Deceiving Fate
by Erelyn Tsunami
Summary: An unexpected war is upon the whole galaxy. The gundams are needed to stop it, but where are the pilots? Professor Hendricks sends two girls to the Gundam Wing era in order to stop the boys from... dying?!
1. Chapter 1

ºDeceiving Fateº

CHAPTER I:

*October 23-

It's the year AC 198. Only 3 years since the war, chaos rules the universe. There is, again, battle between the colonies and earth sphere. Mobile dolls are attacking everywhere. We just need a Gundam or two to pull it off. And we have them… But we need a pilot. Funny enough, the Gundam pilots, Trowa Barton, Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Quatre Raberba Winner, and Chang Wufei are… gone. They're missing. Rumor has it that they're- no, I can't say it. Because if they're dead, so is my hope. I can only pray that ONE of them is out there, somewhere.

The mobile dolls are closer now. I can feel the earth tremble as the explosions take out my high school. My town. My home. Ever closer they near here, but I'm too scared to move. I can only keep writing.

They're almost upon me now. Only a few yards away. They're aiming at my building, my floor. The gun is powered up, and-

End Journal Entry 0193

PRESENT DAY

"Hey Lizz! 'Sup?" Courtney typed an instant message to her Canadian friend. She tucked her short blonde hair behind her ear as she waited for a response. She pushed her glasses up on her nose and sighed.

"Nothing," Lizz replied. "How 'bout you?"

"N2mh, either…"

"Didn't think so." Lizz sighed. "Found any interesting Gundam stuff lately?"

"Nope. …Well, there is this ONE thing…"

"What?"

"It's like a journal entry…"

"Who's is it?"

"It doesn't say. It's like there's another war going on, and- here, let me read it to you." Courtney copy and pasted the entire article into an email. "I found it at http://clix.to/GundamJournal.

"October 23-

It's the year AC 198. Only 3 years since the war, chaos rules the universe. There is, again, battle between the colonies and earth sphere. Mobile dolls are attacking everywhere. We just need a Gundam or two to pull it off. And we have them… But we need a pilot. Funny enough, the Gundam pilots, Trowa Barton, Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Quatre Raberba Winner, and Chang Wufei are… gone. They're missing. Rumor has it that they're- no, I can't say it. Because if they're dead, so is my hope. I can only pray that ONE of them is out there, somewhere.

The mobile dolls are closer now. I can feel the earth tremble as the explosions take out my high school. My town. My home. Ever closer they near here, but I'm too scared to move. I can only keep writing.

They're almost upon me now. Only a few yards away. They're aiming at my building, my floor. The gun is powered up, and-

End Journal Entry 0193"

"Weird," Lizz replied. "Almost like it's actually happening. Kinda suspenseful…"

"Yeah," Court said. "I feel sorry for whoever wrote that."

"Ah, c'mon Court, it's not real. You know that."

"Yeah. We WISH, right? LOL!"

"Yep. ^_^"

"You and DUPO." Lizz laughed uneasily at this. Courtney kept on. "Why do you call him that, anyway? Dupo," she repeated. "Sounds like glue or something."

"LOL! You're right. I dunno WHY I call him that…" Court laughed. Lizz, teasingly, wrote "Yeah? Well at least I don't call him 'Quatre-Baby'!" Courtney spoke quietly.

"I only called him that once."

"Yeah, ONCE. LOL!"

"Key word, that 'ONCE'. ^_^" Courtney sighed.

"Whassa matter?" Lizz asked.

"I wish they WERE real…" she wrote.

"Oh but they are," said a voice. No one wrote anything for a minute. 

"Funny," Courtney wrote.

"What?"

"I could've sworn I heard someone talking to me just now." Lizz was silent for a moment.

"…You mean you heard it too?" Courtney froze. Both girls, though on either side of the continent, had just heard the same voice? This couldn't be happening! "Courtney, are you there?"

"Yeah… yeah, I'm here."

"You know," Lizz suddenly wrote, "this can't be happening."

"I know," Courtney started to write. But she stopped mid-sentence when "Yes, it can," the voice said again. Again, no one spoke.

"This is too freaky…" Lizz wrote.

"You mean… you're hearing all this?"

"Yeah," Lizz nodded.

"…Ok, I'm officially coming off the computer. Staring at the screen all day has fried our brains, that's all… I just need a break…"

"Oh no, you're perfectly fine."

"FINE?!" Both girls screamed at the same time. "I'M HEARING VOICES AND YOU SAY I'M FINE?!"

"Courtney, stop screaming at your brothers!" her mother called down the stairs.

"Lizz, keep it down!"

"Sorry!" the girls yelled in unison. Then they both turned back to the computer.

"What are we gonna do?" Courtney typed.

"I don't know…" Lizz wrote back.

"You're coming with me, that's what," said the invisible man. Both girls screamed as they were pulled inside the computer.

"Courtney, I told you- Courtney? Where'd she go?"

"Lizz, stop yelling! We're trying to watch- Lizz?"


	2. Chapter 2

ºDeceiving Fateº

CHAPTER II:       

            "Whoa…" Courtney stood up uneasily. The floor was spinning… or, it looked like it. She didn't feel the movement, but she sure saw it. All the colors were swirling, constantly moving… But looking at the floor made her dizzy, so she directed her gaze elsewhere. Next to her stood a girl she had never seen before, but she seemed… familiar, somehow. Her long brown hair nearly touched her hips, and she was sort of short; 5' 3", maybe 5' 4". She didn't seem out of shape, either. Courtney studied her face. And then it dawned on her. "Lizz?" The girl turned around. At first she seemed confused at how Courtney knew her name, but then her eyes widened in recognition.

            "Court?" Courtney nodded. "Where are we?" Lizz asked her American friend.

            "I dunno…" was all Courtney could say.

            "You two don't know much of anything, do you?" A man in a lab coat stepped out of nowhere. "I'm beginning to doubt my own decisions…" He shook his head.

            "Who are you?" Lizz asked accusingly.

            "If you must know," he replied rather arrogantly, "I am known as Professor Evers."

            "Well, Evers," Courtney said, "I, er, we want answers."

            "Yeah! First of all-" Lizz started.

            "You want to know where you are. Typical." He turned around. "This," he gestured towards the walls, "is the Internet. Cyberspace. Whatever you people call it these primitive days."

            "Primitive?!" Courtney exclaimed. She didn't like this guy, this 'professor.'

            "You heard me. Primitive." He smirked at this. He paused a moment. "I figured you wouldn't understand." He sighed. "This is going to be a long night." He beckoned them to one end of the room; that is, if you could call it a room. Suddenly a screen popped out of cyberspace and the scene before them was… space? Looked like a satellite of some sort… Of course! It was a colony! This was a Gundam-Wing-era colony! The girls couldn't believe their eyes. "Yes, this is a colony. L2-XC1930, to be precise. Here is where you will be starting your journey."

            "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! What journey?" Courtney asked.

            "Oh, that's right. I have yet to tell of your mission. Silly me." Lizz definitely didn't like the tone in his voice. "The year is After Colony 198. A war has broken out between the colonies and the Earth Sphere. Even I'm not sure why. It all happened so fast…" Both girls caught a glimpse of remorse in his voice. Then he snapped back to life. "We have rebuilt the Gundams, using the old designs and schematics. However," here he paused. "However, the pilots of such Gundams are missing."

            It's just like in the journal…Courtney thought. "Heero's always missing." At this Evers laughed.

            "You know him as well as I do. But I know for a fact that he's missing, as well as the others. You see, I was tipped off that another war may be upon us, so I kept in contact with Yuy for quite some time. We exchanged information, helping one another out." The professor sighed. "Then he just up and disappeared."

            "But that's just like Heero to-"

            "Please, Miss Richards, let me finish." Courtney shut her mouth. "Now as I was saying, he disappeared; about three months ago."

            "Even Heero couldn't stay isolated that long, could he? I mean, not if he was in contact with you." Evers seemed impressed.

            "Perhaps I chose correctly, Miss Wright." Lizz shuffled her feet as Courtney muttered indecipherably. "The other pilots went one after another soon after that; Barton, Winner, Maxwell, and Chang. All at relatively the same time. Someone wanted them out of the way. And, if my theory is correct, all five are dead." The girls gasped. Soon they recovered.

            "So what does this have to do with us?" Courtney asked.

            "Yeah. Where do we fit in? How can we help if they're…" Lizz's voice trailed off.

            "I'm sending you back in time-forward, for you-to before they each disappeared. Your mission is to see that they DON'T."

            "What?!" they exclaimed in unison.

            "How are we supposed to do that?!" Lizz asked, exasperated.

            "You figure it out." Suddenly, Evers was gone, and the floor seemed to turn into a giant warp hole. Both girls were sucked into space. Evers called after them, "I'll be sending you information once you land! Don't screw this up!"

"I'LL GET YOU, EVERS, IF IT'S THE LAST THING-" but Lizz was cut off as the portal sealed. Evers laughed at the look on their faces. "They're perfect for the job." He chuckled as he turned and vanished.


	3. Chapter 3

ºDeceiving Fateº

CHAPTER III:

            Lizz suddenly fell face first onto something hard. Opening her eyes was painful, but she was by now used to pain. Slowly, her eyes came into focus. What she saw scared her so much that she fell off her branch. "AH!" She'd landed in a tree. "Ow…" Hand on her head, she looked up at the tree she'd fallen from and mentally cursed it. Just as she was about to pick herself up, someone offered her his hand.

            "Hi. Are you ok?" Lizz looked up, and before her stood all her fantasies and dreams come true; Duo Maxwell. She was speechless. "Here, let me help you up." She took his hand, and he almost lifted her off the ground.

            "Thanks," was all she could manage to say. Her eyes were always on him. She had totally forgotten about Courtney-wherever she was.

            "The name's Duo Maxwell. What's yours?"

            "Lizz Wright." Three other guys ran up to Duo.

            "So, Duo, who's this?" Quatre asked. Wufei, of course, took one look at her and turned away.

            "A woman." Duo ignored the remark.

            "Guys, this is Lizz. Lizz, meet Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei. Feel free to call him Wu-man. It's his nick."

            "IT IS NOT, MAXWELL!" Suddenly, there was a rustle in the leaves, and everyone looked up.

            "Lizz? Are you ok?" Courtney was attempting to climb down from the tree.

            "Yeah, I'm ok," Lizz called back.

            "You sure?"

            "Yeah."

            "Ok." Courtney swung from one branch to another until she was finally visible.

            "Oh, who's this?" Quatre inquired.

            "My friend, Courtney Richards. Hey, Court, meet Quatre, Duo, Trowa, and Wufei."

            "Hi!" Courtney waved, glancing over the group. Her heart skipped a beat when her eyes landed on Quatre. Oh my gosh… she thought to herself. In her trance, Court stepped on an unstable branch and ("WHOA!") landed in the arms of an un-expectant Wufei, knocking him over.

            "Baka!" he yelled.

            "Oops, sorry." Courtney winced.

            "JUST GET OFF OF ME!"

            "Oh, right! Sorry, so sorry, are you ok?" Courtney scrambled to get off the infuriated young man. "I'm not too good with trees yet." Wufei muttered something softly, still glaring at Courtney. Duo laughed.

            "You two get along like WE do," he said, still grinning. Quatre shook his head.

            "Wufei, you're much too pushy." Again, Wufei muttered something; this time it soundly awfully like "I'll show you pushy…" Quatre sighed. "Are you two ok?"

            "Yeah, we're fine," Lizz smiled. Finally, the silent Trowa became not so silent.

            "What were you doing in a tree, anyway?" At this, both girls were at a loss for words.

            "Umm…"

            "We, uh, like the view!" Courtney finally said.

            "Yeah, and, the uh, exercise!" Lizz pitched in. Trowa nodded as if he understood.

            "Well, uh, oh, look at the time!" Courtney glanced at her watch. "Time to go! C'mon Lizz." She grabbed her friend by the arm and was about to escort her away when she bumped into someone.

            "Heero, man! Glad you could make it!" Duo exclaimed.

            "Hm." Heero obviously wasn't too thrilled at being there. "Who's this?" He asked.

            "This is Courtney and Lizz. They fell outta the tree," Duo explained. Heero raised an eyebrow.

            "We, uh, like the exercise," Lizz said. Heero's face went expressionless once more. He obviously didn't trust them.

            "Look, um, we uh, gotta go," Court told him.

            "Yeah." Lizz turned around, and her eyes fell on Duo. "I hope we'll see you again sometime." Quatre nodded, and Duo shrugged.

            "It's a small colony," he said. With that answer, Lizz walked off, half-dragging Courtney away.


	4. Chapter 4

ºDeceiving Fateº

CHAPTER IV:

            "That was too close!" Prof. Evers said through the intercom. "You've got to be more careful! And come up with a cover story!"

            "Yeah, yeah, we know," Lizz told him. They'd found the coms in their pockets only a few minutes earlier.

            "Look, you need to find somewhere to stay," he continued, ignoring her. "There should be a hotel around there somewhere… I'll try to pull up a map…" There was the sound of shuffling papers in the background.

            "Yeah, uh huh," Courtney said sarcastically. "And how are we going to pay for all this?" The rustling continued.

            "I've set up accounts for both of you."

            "And you're from the future?" Evers chuckled.

            "So… how much is in these accounts of ours?" Lizz asked.

            "Enough."

            "How much is enough?"

            "You'll find out. Check your pockets again." Immediately there was another lump in their pockets.

            "A wallet!" Lizz took hers out, followed by Courtney. Each girl opened them in turn.

            "Inside are a few credit cards, your drivers license, picture ID, and some cold, hard, cash. Everything you need, I've set up for you."

            "Except hotel rooms," Courtney said. Lizz smirked.

            "Yes, um, well…" Evers cleared his throat. "Ah! Here it is!" There came the sound of sliding as he had evidently found his lost map. "Yes, here we are! Ok, let's find you guys a room!"

            "Hey, you know what?" Lizz asked as she walked into their new hotel room.

            "What?"

            Lizz looked in the mirror at her drab tee shirt and jean shorts. "I need a change of clothes."

            "Yeah, me too." Courtney sat down on the bed. "So?"

            "So…" Lizz waved her wallet. Courtney gasped.

            "You don't mean…?" Lizz nodded. Courtney jumped off the bed in celebration.

            "Yes! We're going SHOPPING!" Lizz smiled.

            "It pays to have unlimited funds."

            The mall was simply EMORMOUS. There were three different floors to this place! The smell of popcorn and pretzels drifted to their noses, and the sound of many footsteps met their ears. And there were so many people! Short, fat, tall, thin, young, old, there were all there. Courtney let out a whoop of joy and dragged Lizz to the nearest directory. "Ok, where to first?" she asked, eyes shining.

            "Um… How about… here?" Lizz pointed to a point on the map.

            "No, no, no! Too expensive! You don't shop much, do you?" Lizz looked at Courtney with an annoyed expression on her face.

            "Courtney?"

            "Yeah?"

            "We have unlimited funds, remember?" Courtney grinned sheepishly.

            "Oh yeah, I forgot." Lizz rolled her eyes. "Just c'mon. Let's get this over with."

            The girls spent most of that morning shopping. Courtney seemed to skip from this store to that store in a heartbeat buying anything that fit. If there had been a limit on her credit cards, she'd have reached it and then some. Lizz was a little pickier. Not extremely picky, but she didn't buy it just because it fit. It had to look good on her. Which can be expected from any normal shopper. Eventually, their shopping done, they meandered over to the food court-by Courtney's instruction. "I'm starving! All this shopping has worked up an appetite." 

            "Yeah, I guess I am kinda hungry," Lizz agreed.

            "Then what are we waiting for? C'mon!"

            "Hey, this Chinese stuff is good." Lizz stuck some more lo-mein in her mouth.

            "Told ya," Courtney said, her mouth full of shrimp-fried rice. Lizz laughed.

            "Don't talk with your mouth full."

            "Then YOU don't."

            "Fine."

"Fine." Courtney suddenly felt someone's hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, if it isn't Lizz and Courtney!" Duo's cheering voice came from behind her. She turned around and prepared to act as if she didn't know him. Or, at least, not like she did.

"Hi! Duo, right?"

            "Good memory." 

_Not really, she thought. Lizz smiled as if she could read her mind._

"Hi, Duo."

"Oh, hey Lizz. So, what are you two doing here?" It was Courtney's turn to laugh.

"Shopping, eating. Can't you tell?" She gestured to her bags.

"Yeah, I guess so." He smiled. Quatre came jogging along behind him.

"Duo, what are you doing? We've been- Oh, hi girls. I didn't know you were here." His smile was genuine and friendly.

"Hey Quatre," Lizz said.

"Yeah, hey." Courtney said. Her hand still held her plastic Spork in mid-air. Quatre noticed, but didn't mention it. Instead, he asked a common question.

"What are you doing?"

"Just shopping," Lizz told him.

"And EATING!" Duo said. Everyone laughed.

"Yes, Duo, we're eating. Care to join us?" Lizz offered a seat beside her. Duo shook his head.

"Oh, sorry, I'd like to, but the guys are all waiting for us."

"Well, bring them all. We've got it covered." Duo frowned.

"Ah, now I wouldn't want to take your money-" Courtney cut him off.

"It's no problem, really." Duo looked to Quatre. He refused to accept their offer.

"I'd like to pay for it, girls. We appreciate it, really." The girls sighed.

"If you're sure…" Courtney started to say, but Duo jumped at the comment.

"We're sure. I'll go get them!" He ran off down the mall, and Quatre laughed.

"That guy can't pass up food. I don't care what it is, or what time it is, but he'll eat it." Lizz laughed.

"Of course. I should've known."

"Well, screaming 'And EATING' didn't exactly discourage the fact," Courtney added. They all laughed at this. Quatre sat down.

"So…" he started, "what brings you to our colony?" Lizz took a deep breath. She and Court had prepared for this on the way to the mall.

"Well-"

"I'm back!" Duo yelled. Several people gave him odd looks, but he didn't care. Courtney raised an eyebrow.

"That didn't take long," she stated.

"Yeah." Lizz obviously agreed.

"Well, Trowa thought it was a good idea, and Heero didn't say much… And Wufei-"

"You never told me we were meeting anyone, Maxwell." Duo grinned nervously.

"I didn't? Gosh, I coulda sworn-"

"Don't play games with me." Wufei glared at him, and Duo finally gave in.

"Ok, ok, I brought you guys here to meet the girls. Guys, you remember Lizz and Courtney?" Wufei glared at the blonde American.

"I remember." Courtney grinned.

"Like I said, I'm really sorry about that. I mean, I'm-"

"Not too good with trees yet, I know," he finished for her.

"Uh, yeah…" There was an awkward silence for a few moments. Then Lizz spoke up.

"Yes, well, um, we're glad you're here. Sit down for a while." Duo smiled.

"Don't mind if I do!" He sat down next to Lizz. She was obviously happy about this, but Courtney didn't say anything. Instead, she gazed hopefully at Quatre. But he sat on Duo's other side instead. Trowa sat beside Courtney, and to her dismay, was also sitting by Heero. He made her uneasy, up-close and personal. Wufei ended up sitting next to Quatre. But that was good, because Courtney didn't have to worry about a kick in the shins from under the table, and Wufei could despise her from a distance, off in his own little world. Courtney watched him closely though, with an occasional look to Heero, who was awfully still over there… Courtney shook herself awake and continued eating. Duo watched her every mouthful.

"Um, Duo?" Courtney asked after a few moments.

"Yeah?"

"Could you stop watching me eat? It makes me kinda nervous. And guilty." Across the table, Wufei snorted and rolled his eyes. Lizz glared at him, but he didn't notice.

"Oh, sorry. I'm just hungry." He grinned his boyish grin at her, then turned to Lizz. He looked into her eyes, and Lizz could have melted into a puddle of liquid right then and there. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get me something to eat!" Lizz laughed at the way he emphasized the word "eat."

"Go right ahead," she said, in-between giggles. Duo headed off to the nearest fast-food area. Quatre stood.

"I think I'll go too. I didn't eat breakfast this morning." Trowa followed.

"Good idea." He turned to Wufei. "Coming?" Wufei muttered something and also stood.

"Yeah, yeah." He walked towards the Chinese restaurant, while Trowa headed for the McDonald's. Lizz and Courtney sat there for a minute, looking at each other. Then, without a word, Heero stood and hit the Chik-Fil-A just as Duo was coming back. Duo sat down with a half-empty tray. Lizz looked at him in surprise.

"Is that all they gave you?" Duo grinned.

"I couldn't help myself; I ate half of it on the way." Lizz and Courtney laughed.

"Duo," Courtney said, "you're something else." By this time, everyone was coming back except Wufei. Courtney noticed and decided to state her mind.

"Where's Wufei?" Almost as if he'd heard her call his name, he came over with a look of rage on his face and a tray full of food. He slammed his tray down on the table as he sat down, making the group jump, as well as some of the people nearby.

"Darn those freakin' lines! I hate restaurants!" Duo smiled.

"There you are. Courtney was getting worried. OW!" Courtney had kicked him from under the table. Wufei just muttered something as his usually angry face turned pink.

"I was not! I was just stating the fact that the rest of you had come back when he was one of the first to leave, that's all." Her face was flustered, and her cheeks were a little redder than usual. Quatre merely chuckled, and Heero and Trowa remained silent. Duo rubbed his sore shin.

"Think it's funny? How 'bout YOU have her kick you in the shins?" Courtney grinned.

"They say a woman is stronger in her legs than in her arms," she said. Duo sat back up straight.

"I can testify to that." Quatre laughed.

"I think I'm safe in saying I'd rather not find out for myself," he stated. The young blonde smiled at Courtney, and her face went even redder. Why was it that she couldn't look him in his pale blue eyes without blushing? Trowa, as emotionless as ever, finally spoke.

"So, tell us what you're doing here." Even though they'd practiced a million times on the way over, he had caught them off guard and for a moment they were speechless. This wasn't a request, it was a demand. Coming back to her senses, Court cleared her throat.

"Well," she said, "we're kinda on tour. You see, this is one of the newer colonies, and we're sorta checking it out."

"Almost like a travel agent," Trowa suggested.

"Yeah, that's right." Lizz nodded in agreement.

"So, where are you staying?" Wufei asked. This caught them by surprise, too.

"Well, we've got a hotel room-"

"And how long are you staying?" Lizz spoke up.

"It depends. Could be the weekend, could be… months from now."

"In a HOTEL ROOM?" Duo exclaimed. Lizz shrugged.

"We have enough-"

"Oh, you've got to come stay with us then!" Duo declared. Heero spit out his drink in surprise.

"WHAT?!" he yelled. _He DOES have a voice… Courtney thought. Wufei shook his head._

"For once in your life, Maxwell, be reasonable. We can't house two girls for months on end!"

"Well, we DO have that guest room…" Trowa started. Quatre beamed.

"Hey, that's right! We have an extra room… and it's big enough, let me assure you." 

"I dunno, Quatre, I mean, it's not like we don't have the money…" Courtney said.

"Yeah, and we're girls." Lizz added. Duo looked at Lizz with a grin as wide as his head.

"So? All the better!" he stated. Quatre smiled, but scolded him all the same.

"Duo!"

"What?"

"That's no way to talk to them!" Duo shrugged, and Quatre sighed.

"Ever heard of self-control?" Duo thought for a minute.

"Umm… Nope." Lizz laughed.

"It's ok, Quatre. Really."

"Yeah," Courtney added, "that's probably the best compliment I've heard in weeks!" The four of them laughed. Wufei scoffed.

"Well," he demanded, "what's your answer?" The girls looked to each of the Gundam pilots in turn. Heero and Wufei certainly weren't too happy about this whole arrangement, and Trowa was… just kinda there, staring, watching their every move. Duo looked into their eyes intently, almost begging them to stay with his deep blue eyes. Quatre just stared questioningly, but still… Was there a bit of eagerness in his eyes?

"Well?" Wufei said again, his arms crossed.

"Um…" Courtney stuttered.

"I suppose… If it's-"

"It's fine!" Duo jumped up from his chair and took her hand. "Right guys?" Trowa shrugged.

"I suppose so," he said in the same dull tone he always used.

"It's fine with me. How about you guys?" Heero nodded, though it was obvious that he wasn't thrilled. "Wufei?" Quatre asked the young Chinese.

"Seeing as I'm not going to get out of it… There's one condition." Lizz frowned.

"What's that?" she asked.

"NO TREE CLIMBING!" Courtney smiled uneasily.


	5. Chapter 5

ºDeceiving Fateº

CHAPTER V:

They moved in as soon as they left the mall. Of course, that wasn't long, because Wufei kept complaining that he had "better things to do than sit around at a mall all day." Funny how when asked "Like what?" he didn't answer right away.

The whole group had gone to the hotel and helped move their stuff. Duo embarrassed the girls by stating he "hadn't seen that many clothes since he went to Kmart." Quatre then proceeded to tell him off for it. "No, it's ok, we DO have a lot of clothes," Lizz had admitted. Wufei only snorted as he carried a few bags to their car. Courtney said nothing, but was profusely red as she walked out the door.

Duo and Lizz were getting along just fine on the way home. He'd invited her to go with the guys on the way to their place, and she'd gladly accepted (to the dismay of Wufei). That left Courtney with the girls' little black VW (author's note: Not that there wasn't the room, but hey, they're not gonna leave behind their car, now are they?). She turned the radio dial to a station she'd seen a billboard for on the way to the mall and found it was the right kind of music. She turned the key as Quatre opened the passenger-side door and got in. "Figured you'd rather not ride all the way home alone," he explained. Courtney smiled.

"You were right," she said. Trowa pulled the car around and rolled down the window. Court rolled hers down and listened.

"Just follow me and you won't get lost," he said. Wufei muttered in the back seat of the SUV.

"Woman driver…" Lizz glared but didn't say anything. Duo noticed and decided to change the subject. They were engaged in heavy conversation as Trowa drove out of the parking lot and rolled up his window. Courtney left hers down and followed. They were silent for a while.

"So…" Quatre began, "uh… how old are you, exactly?"

"Exactly? Gee, that'd be-"

"Well, not exactly," Quatre said. Courtney laughed.

"Well then, I'm 16," she said, smiling. "You?"

"18." Courtney nodded. There was an awkward silence between the two as a familiar song came blaring from the radio. Courtney decided to sing along, for a moment forgetting Quatre was there. The song ended as they pulled into the driveway, and Quatre stared at the young blonde, speechless. Finally he spoke.

"You've got a nice voice," he said. Courtney, then realizing his presence, turned as red as ever as she pulled in behind Trowa and stopped the car.

"I'd like to think so," she finally said, not looking him in the face.

"No, really, you do," he said, turning her to face him. They stared at each other for a minute, and were only awakened from the spell when Wufei knocked impatiently on the windshield. He cleared his throat. Both teens, startled, looked around to see what had happened and saw Wufei standing there, hands on his hips. He didn't look mad though, just amused.

"C'mon you two, help us unpack already," he said. Both were blushing radiantly as they got out of the car and opened the trunk of the car.

By now, word of their little incident had spread from Wufei to the others, and Lizz pestered Courtney all about the ride home. Courtney didn't say much, just that he was simply complimenting her on her singing ("which isn't all that good anyway"). Lizz didn't believe her, and neither did any of the others. But they let it slide for a while. At least for Courtney. Quatre was constantly teased by Duo. Of course, it wasn't as bad as Wufei's endless taunting. He only stopped when both Lizz and Duo threatened to pound him to a pulp. Heero was getting tired of it too, but he never let on. He never let on that he felt ANYTHING, for that matter.

The boys carried their clothes upstairs and Quatre gave them a tour of the house (with Duo tagging along the whole way). He ended with their new room. It was beautiful, fit for a king (or queen). The bed had a frame of cherry-finished wood, and the queen-size mattress was simply gorgeous, its deep blue floral design seemed to fade into the white background. The carpet was soft and plush under their feet, and it was a beautiful baby blue. The drapes matched the carpet, and the vanity was also of cherry. There were two small bedside tables on either side of the frame, and on each there was a small ivory lamp. The bathroom was adjacent to the room, and it was enormous! There was even a sunken bathtub. It was simply magnificent. The girls' mouths dropped. It was spectacular! "You like it?" Quatre asked. He turned on the Japanese fountain on the vanity and the sound of flowing water filled the room.

"We LOVE it!" Courtney exclaimed. "It's beautiful!"

"It's wonderful… Almost like you were preparing for someone," Lizz added. Quatre shrugged.

"I'm always prepared," he said in a matter-of-fact tone. Duo laughed.

"Yeah, except for that time you left your towel downstairs and had to-" Quatre clapped his hand over Duo's mouth and cleared his throat.

"Let's let them get settled, shall we?" He asked, cheeks flaring. Quatre pushed Duo out of the room and turned to face the girls. "If you need anything, just yell. One of us'll hear you." He left and closed the door behind him. Lizz sat on the bed and sighed. Her eyes wandered from wall to wall as she AGAIN surveyed the room.

"It's simply beautiful," she said finally.

"Yeah," Courtney agreed. She sat at the vanity and stuck her hand in the water flowing in the fountain. "Gorgeous." She took her hand out again and rose. "I guess I'll check out the bathroom." Lizz nodded.

"I guess I'll come too." She followed her friend into the grand bathroom. Courtney smiled.

"Well, it's certainly large enough," she said, examining the double sink. Lizz ran her hand over the smooth marble countertop.

"And beautiful," she said. Courtney agreed. After they finished their little tour, both girls went into the bedroom. Lizz sat on the bench by the window and looked through the curtains. Duo was leaning against the SUV, talking to Quatre. He glanced up at the window, saw Lizz, and waved. Lizz waved back and sighed. "Isn't he wonderful?" Courtney looked out the window too. By now Quatre had turned to the house too.

"Yeah…" Lizz looked at Courtney for a minute, then smacked her hard enough to get her attention.

"OW! What?" Lizz laughed.

"I was talking about Duo," she said.

"Oh." Courtney smiled guiltily. She cleared her throat. "I knew that." Lizz laughed. There was a knock on the door. "Come in," Lizz called. Trowa opened the door and watched them for a minute. Finally, he spoke.

"We're going back into town for a few things, maybe even to pick up dinner. Do you want to come?" Both girls stood up.

"Sure," Courtney said. "Lizz, you go on, I'm gonna change first."

"Well, I was gonna change too," said Lizz. She turned to Trowa. "Tell the others we'll be down in a minute." Trowa nodded and left the room, closing the door noiselessly as he went.

Courtney walked out of the room wearing her new pink sweater and purple skirt. Lizz followed in a red tank top and khaki shorts. Both girls ran down the stairs, knowing that the boys didn't want to wait much longer. Duo met them at the bottom of the stairs. He bowed low as he opened the door. "Your carriage awaits," he said, wearing his usual boyish grin. Both girls thanked him as they stepped outside. Lizz climbed into the backseat next to Quatre, and Courtney followed. Duo closed the door as they went out and climbed into the SUV's passenger side.

"Where're Heero and Wufei?" Lizz asked.

"Oh, they decided to stay, maybe get some work done. We'll bring them back something," Quatre said.

"Oh." Lizz shrugged. "Ok."

The drive wasn't long to the shopping center. There, they decided to eat at the little pizza joint next to the grocery store. That way the milk that they needed wouldn't spoil while they ate. Duo ate about half of the pizza. "Duo! Save some for us!" Courtney scolded him, laughing.

"I can't help it," he said, his mouth full of pizza, "I'm hungry!" All of them laughed (with the exception of Trowa, of course). Courtney served herself a slice of the sausage and ate it in about 30 seconds flat. Lizz stared wide-eyed at her. Court grinned back and shrugged.

"I'm hungry," she said. Lizz laughed. "Don't you ever think about things other than food?" Court shrugged.

"Sure." Court shrugged again.

"Like what?" Lizz asked skeptically.

"Driving, getting enough sleep, Quat-" Courtney stopped herself. "Quatre, would you pass the sauce?" _Am I blushing? I hope not, but my cheeks feel like they're on fire! I hope he didn't notice my slip-up… she thought. But he had. Of course, he didn't like to pry, so he let it be and passed her the tomato sauce. Lizz popped the last bite of cheese pizza in her mouth and smiled._

The rest of the night went smoothly. Trowa volunteered to go to the grocery store for a few necessary items while the rest of them shopped in the neighboring stores. "I'll let you know when I'm done." Quatre seemed unwilling to leave.

"Are you sure you don't you don't want any help?"

"I'll be fine." Quatre sighed reluctantly.

"Ok…" Courtney put her hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, you know what? WE need some help," she said. She smiled at him. He raised an eyebrow. Court continued. "Sure! We need plenty of help. I don't know my way around here, so you can be our guide." Duo cleared his throat. Lizz laughed.

"And you, Duo," she said. He smiled.

"Thank YOU!" He turned around to face Courtney. "So, where ya wanna go?" Courtney was dumb-founded.

            "Uh… Nowhere in particular." She glanced to Lizz. "How 'bout we just look?" Lizz shrugged.

            "Fine with me. How 'bout you guys?" Quatre shrugged.

            "Whatever you want."

            "Sounds good to me!" Duo said, smiling. Duo offered his arm to Lizz. "Shall we?" She smiled and her cheeks went beet-red.

            "Ok," Lizz said as she took his arm. The two blondes looked at each other. Courtney turned away quickly. She spoke without looking him in the eye.

            "Well, c'mon then. We better get going if we don't want to get left behind." Quatre cleared his throat.

            "Right," he said. Both of them followed the others as they entered a little card-and-gifts shop. Courtney's eyes went straight to the plush toys.

            "Oh," she said, "they're so cute!!!" Quatre smiled.

            "You like stuffed animals, don't you?" Courtney seemed to ignore him as she picked up a little stuffed penguin.

            "Lizz, c'mere! Look at this!" _Guess that answers MY question…Quatre thought to himself._

            "No, YOU c'mere! Look at this necklace!" Lizz had obviously found the jewelry.

            "Coming," Courtney said as she set down the penguin and walked to where Lizz was standing, Quatre trailing from behind. Then she gasped.

            "It's beautiful!" Courtney took the locket in her hands. It consisted of a small silver orb, with flowing lines of gold and copper covering every inch. She held it up to the light so she could see it better. "Beautiful…" she repeated. Lizz nodded.

            "Hey, come here, Quatre, look at this!" Duo called from somewhere near the back of the room.

            "Coming," he said. As he walked back to meet his friend, Quatre grinned. He had an idea.

            Trowa walked into the little shop looking as dull as usual. "Hey, I finished, let's get home." Lizz, followed by Courtney, left the spot where they had been admiring the little stuffed toys near the front of the store. Both girls seemed somewhat reluctant to leave.

            "Ok, let's go," Courtney said. "Wufei and Heero are going to wonder where we are." Lizz laughed.

            "I don't think so, Court. Somehow I think they'll be mad to see us come home!" Both girls giggled. Courtney caught her breath.

            "Especially Heero. He's all silent, you know? I think the peace and quiet might have done them some good."

            "And Wufei! That boy-" The door closed behind them with a ring as the bells on the handle swung back and forth. Trowa turned to follow them, then turned back around.

            "Coming?" Duo nodded.

            "Yeah,  be out in a minute." Trowa nodded and left soundlessly (a/n: 'cept for the bells. DARN BELLS! *ahem* ^_^;;;) Duo grabbed the little plush cat Lizz had been eyeing ever since Courtney showed it to her. He handed it to Quatre.

            "Would you pay for this for me? I don't have my money with me… I'll pay you back!" Quatre laughed.

            "It's ok, Duo, I'll take care of it. Don't worry about it." Duo smiled, looking relieved.

            "Thanks Quatre, you're great!" Duo went to the back of the store as Quatre paid for the stuffed toy. He pulled something out and pocketed it as he handed Duo the bag.

            "There. All done. And you DON'T have to pay me back, Duo." Duo laughed.

            "Ok, ok, if you insist!" Both boys left the shop laughing. 


	6. Chapter 6

ºDeceiving Fateº

CHAPTER VI:

            "Whatcha got there, Duo?" Courtney asked. Duo tried to hide the bag.

            "Oh, it's, uh, nothing!" Courtney grinned mischievously.

            "Oh c'mon, Duo, lemme see! Who's it for?"

            "Not for you," Duo said, annoyed. Courtney shrank back in her seat. She'd never seen this happy-go-lucky boy angry before.

            "Oh, I'm sorry, I guess I am being a little spy… Sorry," she said. Duo smiled.

            "No, it's ok. You're gonna know in a minute anyway." Duo turned around in his seat. "Lizz," he said, holding out the bag, "this… this is for you…" Duo dropped the bag in her lap and turned around immediately. His face looked like he'd been out in the sun too long. Lizz was speechless.

            "For… for me?" she stuttered.

            "Yeah," Duo said without turning around.

            "Go ahead," Quatre urged, "open it." Lizz glanced at the back of Duo's head as she proceeded to open the little paper bag. Her face lit up when she saw what was inside.

            "Oh, Duo, thank you! Courtney, Courtney look! It's that little stuffed cat I saw in that shop!" She handed the kitten to Courtney for a minute.

            "Aww, Duo, that was so sweet! Giving her this little cat… It's adorable!" Duo turned around as Courtney handed Lizz the plush animal. He was blushing more than ever. But he was smiling.

            "Really? Ya think so?" Lizz hugged the little gray, furry ball to her in one arm and with the other she hugged Duo.

            "Yes, I think so. It's cute! Thanks. It's nice to know someone cares," she said. Courtney was taken aback.

            "Hey! I care!" Lizz laughed.

            "Well, you're supposed to! It's your obligation as 'best friend,'" she joked.

            "I'm your friend," he added playfully. Quatre smiled.

            "Yeah, me too!"

            "But you're guys!"

            "So?!" both of them answered simultaneously. Lizz racked her brain for an explanation.

            "Well," she said, "you guys care… differently than we do."

            "Oh," Duo said, as if that explained everything. "So you're saying we care DIFFERENTLY. Oh, I see it now…" Lizz hit him playfully. "Hey!"

            "Don't mock me," she warned, laughing. Courtney went solemn for a minute and nodded.

            "No, she's serious, DON'T. I should know." Lizz laughed.

            "Yeah, you would!"

            "WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" The four of them continued bickering all the way home, and as Trowa pulled into the driveway, there was a hint of a smile on his lips.

            Wufei met them at the door. "So, what'd ya get me?" he said, obviously expecting food. Quatre hit himself in the head.

            "Aw, geez, Wufei! I'm sorry, we forgot!" Wufei turned red with anger.

            "Sure! Forget Wufei! Easy to do because no one CARES! See if I ever help you again! This is an injustice!!!!" He stormed into the house and slammed the door in Duo's face, who was following him. Lizz put her hands on her hips.

            "Well THAT was uncalled for!" Quatre shook his head.

            "He's such a hot-head. I dunno what we're EVER going to do with him!" Trowa shrugged.

            "We'll deal with him later. C'mon and help me get these groceries into the house before the milk spoils!"

            Courtney walked in with the last bag of groceries and closed the door with her hip. She walked into the kitchen where the others were putting away the food and set her bag down on the counter. "That's the last of it," she said. "Need any help?" Quatre closed the refrigerator door.

            "Nah, we got it," he said. Courtney walked out of the kitchen.

            "Ok then." Lizz was sitting on the couch, flipping the channels on the television. "Whatcha watching?" she asked.

            "Nothing," Lizz said, never taking her eyes off the screen. Courtney smiled.

            "Of course…" Courtney sat down next to her. They didn't say much for a while, and the sounds of Quatre and Trowa in the kitchen could be heard. "So…" Courtney began. "Where is everybody?"

            "Oh, well, Quatre and Trowa are putting away groceries-" at this Courtney nodded "-and Heero's in his room, studying or something… And Wufei is-"

            "Sulking in his room. I told him not to expect anything, I knew you'd be too busy with… other things," Heero said as he walked into the living room. Lizz stopped flipping channels and clinched her fists.

            "Yeah, and what's that supposed to mean, Yuy?" Heero shrugged.

            "You tell me," he said, gesturing to the stuffed animal in her hands. Lizz sat there for a moment, glaring at the dark-haired youth. Courtney looked between the two.

            "Yeah, well, uh, anyway…" she said, trying to change the subject. At that moment, Quatre walked into the room, followed by Trowa.

            "Hey guys, whatcha doin'?" Quatre asked. Heero turned away.

            "Nothing." He headed back upstairs. Lizz, still infuriated, turned back to the TV and began flipping channels again. Quatre looked to Courtney for some answers. Court just shrugged and shook her head. Quatre sighed and sat down on the couch next to her.

            "So, uh, did you enjoy our little trip?" Courtney shrugged.

            "Yeah, it was kinda fun. I love to shop."

            "Yeah, me too," Lizz agreed. For a while, no one had anything to say. "Well," Lizz said, "I suppose I'm going to go to bed now…" Quatre looked at his watch.

            "Is it that late already?" The digital face read: "9:00pm." "Whoa! I guess it is later than I thought…"

            "Really?" Courtney looked at her watch too. "9?! Geez Louise! We've been sitting around for 3 hours?!" Lizz yawned.

            "Well, I'm off." She headed upstairs. Courtney got up.

            "Yeah, me too, I guess." She turned to Quatre and Trowa, who just came from out of the kitchen holding a mug of coffee. "Goodnight."

            "Goodnight," Trowa said blankly.

            "Yeah, goodnight," Quatre said. Lizz waved over her shoulder as the girls headed up the stairs.

            Both girls had already changed, and while Courtney finished brushing her teeth, Lizz sighed and flopped down on the large bed. "What a day…" she said.

            "Yeah," Courtney said, coming out of the bathroom with hairbrush in hand. She sat down next to Lizz. "I'm ready to hit the sack!" Lizz smiled.

            "Yeah, me too."

            Heero walked downstairs. "Hey, I want you to see something." He beckoned for the two boys to follow him. Duo ran through the door at that moment. "Guys, we need to talk."

            Wufei scoffed into Heero's room. "This better be good, Maxwell." Duo frowned.

            "I think it's well worth your time," he said indignantly. Quatre sat down on the bed next to Duo.

            "Well, what is it?" he asked politely.

            "Well, I've just been at the base-"

            "So THAT'S where you've been off to!" Duo looked a little ticked at the interruption. Quatre smiled sheepishly.

            "Oh, sorry… Continue, please." Duo cleared his throat.

            "Well, as I was saying," he shot a glance at the uneasy Quatre, "I've just been over at the base, and they've been getting their hands on illegal shipments to the colonies." Wufei seemed unimpressed. He yawned.

            "Shipments of what?" Heero asked pressingly.

            "Several precious metals… and… gundanium…" Duo replied slowly. Quatre seemed shocked.

            "But what would the colonies want with-"

            "That's what we're trying to figure out. I've asked them to keep me posted."

            "Well, do they know where the shipments were headed before they were intercepted?" Duo shook his head.

            "None of the men they caught are talking." Quatre sighed.

            "This is just great…" He shook his head. Heero seemed deep in thought, as did everyone else. He finally nodded.

            "This is news indeed… Thanks," he said. Duo seemed surprised at this sudden show of manners. He opened his mouth to say something, but then decided better of it and shut his mouth. Wufei finally broke the silence.

            "Yes, well, I'm off to bed. I need to think this over, and the best time to do it is in the morning." He started to leave, but Heero stopped him.

"Actually, don't go just yet. Now that you're all here, I wanted to show you something." Heero's hand went under his desk and flipped a switch. Suddenly, the familiar voices of two girls were heard throughout the room. Quatre yelped, and Duo jumped off the bed.

"What the heck…?!" Heero smirked at the confused look on their faces.

"While you were out, I decided to take advantage of the free time and bugged their room." Quatre seemed confused.

"What for?"

"I don't trust them," Heero said with an icy glare.

"They seem nice enough." Yuy shrugged.

"Oh well," he said in sarcasm, "done now."

The girls chattered on, not knowing they were being heard. "So…" Lizz said with a smirk, "what do you think?" Courtney stared at Lizz, confused.

"Think of what?" she asked plainly.

"Of… them." Courtney was still confused.

"Of… them…? OH!" Her eyes widened with sudden understanding. "Oh, ok."

"Well…?" Lizz asked impatiently. Courtney looked uneasy.

"Do we really have to talk about this…?" she asked with false hope.

"YES." Lizz said it with such authority that Courtney gave in.

            "Fine."

            At the words, 'of THEM', each of the Gundam pilots' (with the exception of Wufei) ears had perked up. They were all listening intently to the little speaker on Heero's desk. Heero continued typing softly, trying to bring up a visual. Finally he did.

            "Well, will you tell me what YOU think first?" Courtney looked hopefully at Lizz. She sighed.

            "Fine… Well, let's start with Duo." Duo took a step back from the desk. "Let's see…" Lizz began. "He's cute-"

            "Definitely cute," Courtney agreed. Duo smiled nervously.

            "…and he's awfully sweet…" Courtney snickered.

            "Yeah, especially to you." Duo's cheeks went scarlet. Lizz also went red.

            "Well, as if Quatre isn't fawning over you like some piece of fine jewelry!" There was complete and utter silence in both rooms. Courtney and Quatre were both thinking the same thing: 'Why'd she have to bring this up NOW?' All the g-boys were staring at Quatre. _Kill me now… he thought. Quatre wanted to curl up into a little ball and disappear. Courtney felt the same way. She eventually cleared her throat._

            "Continuing with Duo…" she said, barely audible. Lizz snapped back into reality, and the boys' eyes were glued to the computer screen once again.

            "Oh, right. Well… there's really not much else to say. He's very considerate, and sweet…"

            "And cute," Courtney said with a giggle.

            "AND cute," Lizz agreed. Wufei scoffed. Duo shrugged and grinned his usual boyish grin.

"I can't help it! Everyone loves me!"

"Ok, next victim- er, I mean guest…" Courtney laughed at this. "Hmmm…" Lizz ran over the remaining boys in her head. "How about… Heero?" Heero nearly jumped out of his skin. They were talking about him?! He sat back down in his chair and peered at his laptop. Courtney definitely seemed uneasy now.

            "Well, I, uh…" Lizz put her hands on her hips.

            "Well? Spit it out!"

            "Well… er, how do I say this…? Well he's, uh, well, very NICE-looking…" Lizz burst out laughing. On the other side of the hall, so did all the G-boys. Heero's face went red. Out of all the boys, Wufei was probably laughing the hardest.

            "You- you mean- to tell me- HA HA HA HA HA!!!-that she- she- she thinks- she thinks you're CUTE?!" Wufei exclaimed between bursts of laughter. Duo was rolling on the floor with mirth, and Quatre laughed so hard that he fell off the bed and hit the floor. All he managed to say was 'ow' before he started laughing again. This made the boys laugh even harder.

            The girls heard a thud from the other side of the hall. Both girls forgot their current situation for a minute as they both headed for the door. "What on earth are they doing over there?!" Lizz asked. She opened the door, and like a blast of fresh air, laughter filled their ears. "Hey," Lizz yelled, "what are you doing in there, killing each other?!" Heero opened the door, his face flushed.

            "No, we're just, uh, well-" Wufei covered for him.

            "Maxwell told a joke, that's all." Lizz nodded, still suspicious. Courtney was concerned at how red Heero's face was.

            "You don't look so good, Heero. Do you have a fever or something?" Heero jumped.

            "No, I uh, it's just that I'm, er, laughing, so… hard…" He opened the door a bit more, revealing Quatre and Duo both on the floor.

            "What the…?! Never mind, I'm not so sure I want to know…" Courtney said, correcting herself.

            "Well, incase you haven't noticed, we're trying to sleep, so would you mind TONING IT DOWN A BIT!? Sheesh!" Lizz walked back to their room.

            "Yeah, keep it down," Courtney said, yawning. As soon as she was gone, and the door was closed, Heero slammed the door.

            "Geez, that was close. We've got to me more careful." Trowa said from behind the door. Duo nodded, he and Quatre still beside themselves in giggles. Heero kicked at them, just to scare them back to their senses.

            "Shut up, both of you! It's not that funny anyway…" Quatre sat back on the bed.

            "Whatever you say, Heero," Duo said as he climbed up next to Quatre. The girls were already continuing their talk.

            "Well, Trowa's nice and everything, but he's so… silent," Lizz was saying.

            "Yeah, I know whatcha mean. He hardly says anything at all… And when he does, it's like, 'hi' or 'bye,' or something like that," Courtney said. Lizz nodded.

            "Ok, next subject… Wufei." At this, Wufei rushed from his side of the room to the video screen and peered into it. Courtney groaned.

            "Not Wufei…" Lizz nudged Courtney in the ribs.

            "Oh, c'mon! I think he's cute." Courtney's eyes widened.

            "You?!" Lizz grinned.

            "Yup." Wufei felt his face grow hot. "What about you?"

            "Well, he's handsome, I guess… But…"

            "But what?" Lizz asked.

            "But… he scares me…" Courtney admitted. Duo snickered in the other room.

"With a face like that," he said, pointing at Wufei, "I'd be scared too!" Heero smirked.

"Watch it, Maxwell," Wufei said. Lizz giggled.

            "Yeah, me too sometimes. He's so uptight!"

            "Yeah. He REALLY needs to loosen up." Both girls laughed. When they finally caught they're breath, the girls could hear Duo laughing in the next room. Lizz shook her head.

"Sometimes I could swear they're listening to us or something…" Courtney laughed.

"Yeah right…" She yawned. "Well, I'm off to bed." Lizz shook her head.

            "Uh uh," she said. "We're not through yet." Courtney raised an eyebrow.

            "We're not?" _Oh no… Quatre thought. __No, no, no… Lizz shook her head again._

            "You're forgetting someone." Courtney bowed her head.

            "…Actually, I didn't forget, I just didn't want to talk about it…" she said, not looking up.

            "Oh why not? You and Quatre… I think it's kinda cute!" Courtney whimpered. "Oh, you know you like him…"

            "Of course I like him! He's adorable! And he's so sweet, and kind, and-" Realizing what she'd just said, Courtney clapped a hand over her mouth, wide-eyed.

            "Ah HA! You DO like him!" Courtney hung her head.

            "Yeah…" Lizz was concerned.

            "Then why the long face?" she asked.

            "'Cause he'll never like ME…" Lizz frowned.

            "That's not true."

            "Yes it is…"

            "How do you know?"

            "I just do…"

            On the other side of the hall, Quatre's cheeks were flaring. He cleared his throat. "I'm gonna go make some coffee. Anyone want some?" He stood up to leave, but Duo pulled him back onto the bed.

            "Don't leave just yet. Don't you want to hear what they have to say?" Quatre hunched his shoulders.

            "No, not really, no…" Duo let go of his arm.

            "Ok, then.." Quatre left as soon as Duo's grip had loosened. Once outside the door, he let out an exasperated sigh and shook his head.

                            "Inviting a bunch of girls to our house… What have we gotten ourselves into?"


	7. Chapter 7

ºDeceiving Fateº

CHAPTER VII:

            The rest of the boys had gone to sleep a few hours ago. But not Heero. He had to monitor the girls' conversation. He couldn't sleep. Wouldn't sleep. Well, maybe he'd just rest his eyes for a few minutes… Heero laid his head down on the desk and closed his eyes. Suddenly, he awoke. The room was filled with sunlight. Good grief! How long had he slept?! Heero glanced at his watch. 7am!? Heero had definitely slept longer than he'd planned. Angry with himself, Heero hit (literally) the rewind command on his computer of the recording of night's conversation. When it was finished, he played it back. As he did, his eyes widened more and more at what he heard. _I knew those girls were something more! he thought as he ran out of the room._

            Courtney hummed as she walked down the hall to breakfast, her hair still wet from her morning shower. She continued humming as Heero ran past her and down the stairs. "Morning, Heero!" she called after him. He didn't reply. "Well, that was rude."

            Quatre and Duo were already eating breakfast when Heero rushed into the kitchen. "What is it, Heero?" Quatre asked, concerned.

            "I need to talk to all of you," he said. He glanced at Lizz. "In private," he added. Duo noticed his area of focus.  

            "What's this all about, Heero?" he asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

            "You'll see soon enough… or rather, hear…" Quatre had a confused look on his face, and Duo was no better off. Heero moved over to the counter and poured himself some coffee. Lizz pulled the milk out of the fridge and closed the door.

            "Oh, good morning, Heero," she said cheerfully.

            "Hn." Heero sipped his coffee.

            'Well then!" Lizz said indignantly. She sat down across from Duo. "What's with Heero?" Duo shook his head.

            "Just being his usual self, I suppose." Just then, Courtney walked into the room.

            "Morning, everybody!" she said happily.

            "Morning Courtney," Lizz replied. Heero scoffed and took his coffee to the living room. 

            "What's wrong with him?" Courtney asked in distaste. Quatre shrugged.

            "Who knows?" Courtney sighed and shook her head.

            "What's for breakfast?" she asked. At this, Duo stood up, held his bowl out to her, and said in a French accent, "Ah, zee specialty of zee house: serve-yourself cereal." Courtney giggled.

            "Ok, ok, I get the point," she said, smiling. Courtney grabbed a bowl and a box of cereal. Once she had poured the cereal, she went searching for the milk. "Hey," she said, closing the refrigerator door, "where's the milk?" At this, Lizz realized she'd left the milk out on the table.

            "Oh, sorry about that, it's right here."

            "Thanks." After Courtney had filled her bowl, she put away the milk and sat down with her cereal next to Lizz. Duo stood up and put his dishes in the sink.

            "Well," he said, "I'll see you two lovely ladies later," he said.

            "Where are you going?" Quatre asked.

            "I need to talk to Heero." Quatre nodded.

            "Good idea. I think I'll join you." Quatre put his dishes in the sink next to Duo's and followed the bright young man out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

            Wufei passed Heero in the hall. "Morning," he said, half-awake. Heero grabbed his arm.

            "I need to talk to you." Wufei shrugged him off.

            "Fine. After breakfast. And coffee." Heero was getting annoyed.

            "No. Now."

            "But what about-" Duo, followed by Quatre, came up the stairs.

            "Oh, morning Wufei," Quatre said. "Coffee machine's on if you-" but Wufei was already gone down the stairs. "-want some…" Heero fought back the urge to strangle the young blonde. He settled on his piercing Death Glare instead. Quatre took a step back from Heero warily. "…What?"

            Without a word, Wufei rushed into the kitchen and poured himself some coffee. "Good morning, Wufei," Courtney said.

            "…What's so good about it?" Lizz smiled.

            "Not a morning person, are you?" Wufei only grumbled in reply. Courtney grinned.

            "I'm not, not really… But once I'm up, I can't get back to sleep, so I might as well wake up and start the new day!" she said cheerfully. Wufei grunted again. Courtney sighed.

            "I give up. So much for starting an intelligent conversation."

            "Kind of hard to have an intelligent conversation with an unintelligent person," Lizz said. Courtney snickered, but Wufei didn't seem to catch the joke.

            "…Man, he _is_ zoned-out!" Lizz said. She got up from the table and waved her hand in front of his face. Wufei didn't blink. Courtney laughed.

            "I knew he was light-headed, but this is ridiculous!" she said, still laughing. Lizz sat back down.

            "Sheesh, talk about thick," she said.

            "Oh, come on, he's not _that_ stupid!"

            "…I was talking about the coffee."

            "Oh."

            Heero was trying to find the tape he'd listened to just a few minutes ago. "I don't understand it! It was right here a minute ago!" Heero searched his computer files for the fifth time. "I swear it! It was right here!!!" He slammed the laptop shut and sat back in his chair, furious. He closed his eyes as he tried to remember what he had done with the tape. Duo crossed his arms.

            "Well?" he asked, growing rather impatient. Heero opened his eyes and leaned forward.

            "It was here, Duo. I swear."

            "What was?" Quatre asked. Heero stood up and threw his hands in the air.

            "A tape! The tape I recorded of the girls last night! I can't find it! I could have sworn I had it right here in my files!!!!" Heero dropped into his chair, defeated. "I can't find it. It's gone."

            "Well, what do we need a tape for? Can't you just tell us what they said?" Quatre asked, trying to find a plausible solution. Heero shook his head.

            "You wouldn't believe me. That's why I need that tape!"

            "…Why don't you try?" Heero sighed.

            "Fine, but I warned you."


	8. Chapter 8

ºDeceiving Fateº

CHAPTER VIII:

            "WAIT!" Quatre exclaimed.

            "What?!" Heero asked, annoyed.

            "Wouldn't Trowa and Wufei want to hear this?" Heero shrugged. "Well, do you REALLY feel like telling your whole story twice?!" Heero thought about this for a moment.

            "I suppose you're right." Heero sighed. Duo grinned.

            "Then let's go wake up Trowa!!" Both of the other boys sighed.

            Wufei was fully awake now that he'd had his coffee. He went to put his mug in the dishwasher when he happened upon the pile of dishes in the sink. He made a noise in his disgust. "UGH! Look at this mess! Am I the only one around here that knows how to take care of their dishes!? This house is a complete disaster area!" He then proceeded to transfer the dirty bowls to the washer, muttering about "ungrateful, lazy bakas." Lizz leaned over to Courtney.

            "Sheesh, what a neat-freak." Courtney nodded.

            "Tell me about it." Both girls proceeded to head to the living room after handing Wufei their dishes (since he was obviously volunteering to clean them). (a/n :MWA HA HA! *ahem*)

            The three boys crept into Trowa's dark room. The curtains were pulled shut, so there was hardly any light. Of course, living in the same house, the boys basically knew the layout of the room. "OW!" Except Duo. "Since when does he leave his chair there?!" Heero turned on him and hissed through his teeth.

            "Shut up! We don't want to be too sudden with him!" Quatre smiled, amused.

            "Yeah, remember last time?" Duo winced.

            "Don't remind me." Quatre got to the bed first. He grabbed Trowa's shoulders and shook them gently.

            "Trowa, wake up," he said softly. When Trowa didn't stir, he shook him a little harder. "Wake up!" Heero pushed Quatre out of the way and shook Trowa rather roughly.

            "Wake up, idiot!" Trowa yawned and sat up, half-asleep.

            "Hn…?"

            "I need to talk to you, NOW."

            "'Bout what…?" Trowa asked, yawning again.

            "The girls." Trowa's eyes widened all of a sudden.

            "THEY'RE ALIENS! I KNEW IT!!!" Duo snickered and ran out of the room. Quatre just smiled nervously and slowly back away, while Heero pondered on what he REALLY thought about this sudden outburst. Trowa was confused as he watched everyone's reactions. Apparently, his own yelling brought him to his senses. "What?" Duo burst out laughing in the hallway. Quatre smiled, finally realizing what was going on.

            "That's it, no more coffee before bed," he scolded. Trowa looked embarrassed.

            "Did I do something stupid again?" Quatre nodded while Duo continued to laugh in the hall. Wufei walked into the room, past Duo, who was still crippled by laughter.

            "What's with him?" Heero hit himself in the head.

            "Oy."

            "So what's this all about, Yuy?" Everyone was, again, in Heero's room (a/n: Everything seems to happen in here, doesn't it? :p anyway.. ^_^;;), trying to get Heero to spit out what he had to say. Wufei grew even more impatient. "Look, this morning you insisted that I talk to you 'NOW', and now I've come and you don't have anything to say!? INJUSTICE!!!"

            "Calm down, you idiot. I'll tell you," Heero said, offended. "Quit your yelling."

            "Then tell us already!" Wufei yelled. Heero closed his eyes.

            "I don't know where to start." Wufei's vein started popping out of his forehead.

            "Yuy, if you don't-"

            "Don't threaten me, China-boy," Heero said, pulling out one of his recently polished guns. Quatre watched wide-eyed, waiting for something to happen. Duo, however, was rather unimpressed. This seemed to happen all the time, so he'd learned to expect it. And Trowa… well, he was, of course, emotionless. (a/n: as usual… _') Wufei threw his hands up in the air.

            "This is an INJUSTICE!" he said, dropping into the nearest chair. "Fine, have it your way, Yuy, but one of these days…" Wufei continued to mutter senselessly under his breath. Heero merely rolled his eyes and started his story.

            "Ok, well, let's see. I suppose I'll start with last night after you guys went to bed."

            "Yeah yeah, get on with it," Duo pushed impatiently. Heero glared at him but continued anyway.

            "Well, I was monitoring their conversations, and I…" Heero's voice trailed off at this point.

            "You what?" Duo was growing more irritated every second. He had things to do, after all.

            "Well, I, erm, fell asleep…" Quatre shrugged.

            "Go on," he pushed gently.

            "…And I woke up a little while ago. I rewound the tape-"

            "Which you don't have anymore," Wufei interrupted. Heero glared.

            "Fine, if that's the way you see it. I rewound the tape, and played back last night's conversation. Several hours seemed to be of blank tape (they were obviously sleeping during these points) and I fast-forwarded to the next set of sound waves. It was the girls, talking early this morning." Heero paused for a minute.

            "Yeah, and what'd they say?" Duo seemed touchier than ever. Quatre, uneasy at this fact, scooted his chair a little further from young man.

            "Well… you guys aren't going to believe me, but they were talking to someone."

            "Like who?" Quatre asked. Heero shook his head.

            "A man, probably early-thirties by the sound of it." Quatre's heart had skipped a beat for a moment there. But she wouldn't… He shook his head, as if to free himself from the thought. He tried to tune back in to what Heero was saying.

            "…So what'd they say?" Duo said, a little more patient now that Heero was finally getting "on with it."

            "I'M GETTING TO THAT!" Heero yelled angrily. He quickly calmed himself and reminded himself to keep his cool. _Wouldn't want the girls getting suspicious, now would we? he thought. Heero cleared his throat. "Well, oh, you're not gonna believe this, but they were talking about us."_

            "So?" Duo asked.

            "…the subject of our deaths came up QUITE A FEW TIMES…" The room was absolutely silent. Heero was almost surprised. They actually believed him? This was a first. Wufei was first to gather himself.

            "Nonsense, Yuy. We aren't dead, and, sorry as I am to actually defend them, they're not murderers." Heero hit himself in the head.

            "No, no, no!! That's not what I mean!"

            "What do you mean?" Duo asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice. He didn't believe one bit of this whole thing.

            "Well, you know that man I was telling you about?" Everyone nodded. "Well, he said something about PREVENTING our deaths for the up-coming war."

            "What?!" Wufei exclaimed. "There's no war!" Quatre held up his hand to silence him.

            "No, no, no, wait! Remember those illegal shipments Duo told us about?"

            "Hey, that's right," Duo agreed. "What if they're somehow connected?" Everyone thought about this for a moment.

            "Well, whatever's going on," Trowa said finally, "it's suspicious, and we should keep an eye on things. Meaning the shipments AND the girls." Duo sighed in defeat. He didn't want to not be able to trust Lizz OR Courtney, but the way things looked, he'd at LEAST have to play along, for now. Quatre secretly felt the same, but everyone trudged out of the room in agreement.

            "What do you think's going on up there?" Courtney asked her Canadian friend as they both stared at the ceiling. They'd been hearing nothing but yelling since the boys went upstairs. Lizz shrugged.

            "You know boys," she said. Courtney nodded.

            "Unfortunately." Courtney sighed. "What do you wanna do?" Lizz shrugged.

            "I dunno. Wanna go outside?"

            "Sure, why not? I don't have anything else to do." Lizz laughed.

            "Yeah, me either." Both girls got off the couch and walked out onto the back patio. Courtney leaned on the rail.

            "It's a nice day out," she said, trying to start a conversation.

            "Yeah." Small talk obviously wasn't working. There just wasn't much to do. Courtney sighed. Lizz followed her example. "You're bored too, huh?"

            "Yeah." Lizz shook her head.

            "Here we are, with the chance of a lifetime on our hands, and we're bored." Lizz sighed again. "We're hopeless," she added with a smile.

            "Yep." The sliding glass door opened behind them and turning around, they saw Quatre closing the door behind him.

            "Oh, hey Quatre," Lizz said plainly.

            "Hey," he said with a smile. "Whatcha  doing out here?"

            "Just looking," Courtney said. Quatre smiled a crafty grin.

            "Well, if you don't have anything else to do," he said, "then let me show you something I think you'll like." Courtney cocked her head.

            "What's that?"

            "Well-" he had meant to say "follow me and you'll find out," but something caught his eye. There was a large spider on the railing between the two girls. "-oh look, a spider!" he said instead. Courtney froze.

            "A… a spider? ….Where?" Courtney began to search the ground with her eyes. Lizz looked around for it, too.

            "Right there," she said, pointing to the big black bug.

            "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Courtney screamed. She jumped away from the railing in disgust. "KILL IT, KILL IT, KILL IT!!!" Quatre looked at Lizz with an eyebrow raised.

            "…She doesn't like bugs, does she?" Lizz shook her head and laughed.

            "Nope. Not at all." Quatre rolled his eyes and grabbed Courtney's elbow.

            "C'mon, if you don't bother it, it won't bother you. Now let's go." He pulled her through the gate and was about to pull her around the corner of the house, with Lizz following, when he turned around. "Close your eyes, now," he said. Both girls rolled their eyes at the childish joke.

            "Do we have to?" they asked, almost in unison. The look on Quatre's face was their only answer. Both of them sighed and closed their eyes, allowing themselves to be pulled around the corner. He pushed them a few more feet and stopped.

            "Ok, you can look now." Both of them opened their eyes to see-

            "YOU DIDN'T TELL US YOU HAD A POOL!!!" Lizz exclaimed. Quatre grinned.

            "Knew you'd like it." Courtney looked at Lizz.

            "You KNOW what this means." Lizz grinned and nodded. Both girls turned to Quatre.

            "Can we?" they said simultaneously. Quatre shrugged.

            "Fine with me." Immediately, Lizz let out a whoop, and both she and Courtney ran back into the house, Courtney chanting "We're going swimming!" all the way to the room. Quatre laughed and shook his head.

            "Girls. Gotta love 'em." Then he turned to head back into the house as well.


	9. Chapter 9

ºDeceiving Fateº

CHAPTER IX:

            The girls ran up the stairs, passing Duo on the way. "Where are you two off to in such a hurry?" he asked.

            "We're going SWIMMING!!" Courtney yelled without looking back. 

Duo's face lit up. "Really?" 

Lizz turned around as Courtney flew past her. "Yeah. Wanna come?" Duo grinned.

            "I was hoping you'd ask." He jogged up the stairs behind Lizz and ran to his room. He opened the door, and before stepping inside, he turned around. "I'll wait here for you guys, ok?" Lizz nodded in agreement.

            "Sure." She went into her room as Courtney stepped out of the bathroom in her new bathing suit. It was a one-piece, but it suit her well. It was a completely black halter, and over it, she wore a sarong of light, white material around her waist. A pair of black jelly sandals adorned her feet, and her head was covered with a white straw hat. Instead of her regular glasses, she wore a pair of blue-tinted sunglasses.

            "I'm ready to go!" she said. "Oh, and the sunscreen's in the bathroom," Courtney told her friend, who was searching through the many drawers of her side of the dresser for her own bathing suit. "45 SPF," she added. Lizz  pulled out her bathing suit.

            "45!? Good grief! …oh, well I suppose you DO burn with that light skin of yours… Ok Court," she said, heading for the bathroom. She stopped herself before closing the door. "Oh, guess what?" she added in an excited tone.

            "What?" Lizz grinned.

            "Duo's coming with us!!!" Courtney giggled.

            "Oh beautiful," she said in sarcasm. "Duo, shirtless. Just what we need around you." Lizz continued grinning.

            "I know, isn't it wonderful?" Courtney laughed.

            "Yeah yeah, now hurry up so we can go!" Lizz giggled.

            "Oh, alright. I'll meet you guys in the hall."

            "Ok, Lizz. See ya out there."

            Duo was waiting anxiously in the hall, already dressed in his orange swim trunks and a tee shirt, when Courtney stepped out of the bedroom. "Hey Court. Nice outfit." Courtney grinned.

            "I thought so, too. Thanks." Duo smiled.

            "Anytime. Say, you wouldn't mind if ALL the guys tagged along, would you?" Court shrugged.

            "I don't mind, but I dunno about Lizz." Duo thought it over for a minute.

            "I don't think she'd mind TOO much…"

            "Mind what?" Lizz asked as she stepped out of her room. She was wearing a crimson red bikini, with a maroon sarong and leather sandals.

            "If the guys come too." Lizz thought it over for a moment.

            "I dunno…" Duo put on his best abandoned-puppy eyes and pleaded:

"PLEASE?" Lizz laughed.

"Alright, alright, fine. But don't force them to if they don't want to." Duo smiled.

"Ok." He ran off down the stairs. "I'll go get 'em," he called. Lizz laughed again.

"How can I resist the great Shinigami?" she asked. "He's just irresistible." It was Courtney's turn to laugh.

"Yeah yeah. Come on, missy." And with that, she dragged Lizz down the stairs.

Duo was trying to talk Wufei into a bit of swimming when the girls entered the living room. "Oh c'mon, it'll be fun!" Duo was saying.

"No. Absolutely not."

"Why not? You'd swim any other time." Wufei paused for a minute.

"It's of no concern of yours, Maxwell, whether I choose to swim or not," he said finally, his face flushed with growing annoyance.

            "Fine, but you don't know what you're missing!!!" Duo said in a singsong voice. He ran off into the kitchen to try and con Heero and Trowa into going. Lizz shook her head, smiling.

            "Silly Duo," she said. Lizz sighed. "He'll never learn." Courtney shrugged and walked over to the door. Wufei looked up from whatever he was working on.

            "And where do you think YOU'RE going?" He asked.

            "Swimming," she replied coolly.

            "Yep. We both are," Lizz said before Wufei could say something smart.

            "Good, as long as you're out of my sight." Lizz clinched her fists.

            "Why you nasty little-" Courtney opened the door and grabbed Lizz's arm. She started to pull Lizz out the door.

            "C'mon," she said, "no need to let Mr. Know-it-all over there ruin our day."

            "Know-it-all? Is that the best you can do? That's pretty lame," Wufei said. Courtney stopped, her back still turned away from him.

            "What… did you… call me…?" She stuttered finally.

            "Lame. You _and_ your insults are lame." Courtney's fists began to shake. She whirled around to face the over-confident young man with a new fury.

            "You want lame? I'll give you lame! Just go look in that mirror down the hall and you'll see some pretty pathetic things. Namely, YOU. Now if you want to insult me again, I suggest that you think twice because you don't want to see me mad- I'll knock the crap right out of you before you can say 'ouch' and believe me, I will not hesitate to do it!" And with that, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the house, leaving a surprised Wufei alone with Lizz staring after her.

            "Courtney, you ok?" Lizz jogged after her friend, trying to catch up.

            "I'm FINE." Courtney said, fists still clinched.

            "You sure?" Lizz asked.

            "Yep. Just PEACHY." Courtney threw down her hat on the nearest lounge chair and started to take off her sandals and sarong.

            "…Ok," Lizz said warily. Courtney finally broke down.

            "I'm just tired of everyone looking down on me, thinking they can push me around, and I've had it! I can't take it anymore!" She took a deep breath and looked at the pool. "Aw heck," she said, "I need a swim." With that, she jumped into the deeper end of the pool. She swam around underwater for a while, then came up for air, smiling. "Ah," she said, "much better." She brushed the hair out of her face and took a dive. It was Lizz's turn to jump in. Instead of jumping off the side, as Courtney had done, she walked over to the diving board and jumped off. Both girls went up for air as Duo came around the corner, followed only by Trowa (who was wearing green swim trunks) (a/n: detaily, aren't we? ….ah, Duo… Orange is SO your color.. .besides black ^_^;; *Lizz: SMACK!* OW…. _). Lizz looked at him questioningly, about to ask where the others were, but, as if reading her mind, answered before she could say anything.

            "Heero's got stuff to do, I can't find Quatre, and Wufei's being a stubborn idiot," he said quickly. Lizz laughed.

            "As usual." Duo smiled.

            "Yep. So Trowa's the only one free." Courtney smiled, though in her heart she was a bit disappointed.

            "That's ok, we can have fun without them. It's their loss, not ours." Trowa nodded and jumped into the pool.

            "Jeronimo!!!" Duo cannonballed into the pool, splashing everyone near (a/n: not that it mattered, they were wet anyway… _). Lizz laughed as Duo came up for air. "Hey, you know what?"

            "What?" Lizz asked.

            "I'm gonna do that AGAIN!" And he was out of the pool before anyone could stop him.

            "Run away, run away!!" Courtney screamed in mock fear as she swam to the other end of the pool.

            "Girl, you've been watching WAY too much Monty Python…" Lizz said as she swam behind Courtney. Trowa followed, half because he didn't care for being splashed much, and half because he didn't want to be left alone at one end of the pool.

            "WAHOOOOO!!!!" Duo jumped in again, and the "shock" waves splashed hard against the concrete sides of the swimming pool.

            "Talk about a tidal wave…" Courtney muttered under her breath. Lizz elbowed her. "Ow! Hey, I was just joking!" Lizz grinned.

            "Don't poke fun at Dupo," she said firmly. Courtney crossed her arms.

            "I can if I want to," she said.

            "Nuh uh."

            "Yeah huh." Duo got out of the pool, unbeknownst to anyone besides Trowa, and hopped back into the pool holding a large inflated beach ball.

            "Pool volleyball, anyone?"

            Quatre watched their game from his room, which (a/n: conveniently ^_^) happened to face the pool. He sighed. _They're having so much fun… Just look at them. Bet they don't even notice I'm gone… Quatre sighed again. __Oh well… Maybe I'll go out later… I just don't want to make a fool out of myself in front of the girls… Man, I'm such an idiot! I should be out, having fun, and here I am, moping around, feeling sorry for myself, and for no good reason, too!  "Ugh," he said audibly. "That's it. I'm going out there, whether I might make a fool of myself or not."_

            "Where are YOU going?" Heero asked as Quatre stepped out into the hall, wearing his baby blue swim trunks and a tee shirt (a/n: baby blue… to match his eyes… *dreamy sigh*).

            "Swimming," Quatre answered matter-of-factly. Heero grunted in disgust.

            "Swimming, huh? Well, you can tell Duo that if he EVER tries to pull that again he'll be dead before he can even blink." Quatre looked at him questioningly. "He'll know what I mean," Heero explained. Quatre shrugged and headed for the door. _Whatever, Heero…_

            "…So you've fallen victim to their evil ways as well, eh Winner?" Wufei leaned on the arm of the couch.

            "They're not evil, Wufei."

            "That's what you think." Quatre rolled his eyes, annoyed, and walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

            "That's the SECOND person I've ticked off in 10 minutes. It's a new record," Wufei said, jotting it down on a piece of paper.

            "You and your stupid records…" Heero shook his head and walked back into the kitchen.

            "…Make that three….."

            "Hey guys, am I interrupting something?" Quatre had reached the pool. His sudden presence caused Courtney to miss the ball, giving Trowa and Duo yet ANOTHER point.

            "Ha ha! Another point! We're gonna win, we're gonna win!!" Duo gloated over their imminent victory. Court didn't care. All she could really think about was Quatre.

            "Oh, hey…" she managed to whisper. No one seemed to notice, though.

            "No, you're not interrupting anything, not really. We were just getting ready to take a break," Lizz said.

            "Hey, that's not fair! Just when we were about to win! Cheaters!!!" Duo continued yelling. However, he wasn't really mad. He was just being his usual teasing self. Lizz was already out of the pool.

            "Sorry, Duo. Maybe next time," she said, grinning.

            "Shoot!" Duo slammed his fist into the water, splashing the un-expectant Trowa. He muttered something as he, too, exited the pool, followed by Courtney and Duo. Courtney sat down on one of the lounge chairs and sighed.

            "That was a pretty good game. I enjoyed it," she said.

            "Even though you were LOSING?" Duo teased.

            "We weren't losing!" Lizz defended. "…Not too bad….." Duo smiled.

            "That's ok, you can't do much against two big strong men like us, eh Trowa?" Trowa didn't answer. 

            "Strong?! You're the weakest bunch of sorry losers I have ever seen!" Lizz joked.

            "…Yeah, well, if they beat us, doesn't that make us even weaker than they are…?" Courtney said, working out the logic in it. Lizz merely looked at Courtney.

            "You're supposed to be on my side," she said. Courtney shrugged.

            "I just figured you'd like to know," she said, grinning.

            "I'd hush before I throw YOU in the pool," Lizz warned. Courtney threw up her hands in surrender.

            "Ok, ok, I won't make you look any worse than you already are."

            "WHAT?!" Quatre and Duo both laughed.

            "Ok, ok, enough already. As much as I enjoy watching you two annoy each other, it's not too healthy and I don't recommend it. How 'bout I go get some lemonade? I just squeezed some this morning. Who wants some?" Four hands rose, by accompanied 'Me!' "Ok then, I'll go get some, since I seem to be the only one NOT WET." He ran off around the corner before anyone could object.

            "That was nice of him," Lizz pointed out. Duo shrugged.

            "He always does stuff like that. It's in his blood." Lizz laughed.

            "Yeah, well, it doesn't hurt to be nice once in a while," she teased.

            "Are you saying I can't be polite? I can be nice too, ya know," Duo said, acting hurt.

            "I know, I was just saying-"

            "Sure, that's what they always say. But no one ever MEANS it, NO. 'Oh look at poor Quatre. He does all the stuff around the house. And he VOLUNTEERS for it too. Oh, isn't that nice? Now DUO on the other hand- that boy needs to straighten himself out. He couldn't be courteous if his life depended on it.'"

            "Now that's not true," Courtney said. "You're very nice, Duo." Duo shot her a look. "Honest!" she added.

            "Yeah, you're VERY sweet, Duo, you just don't always get the credit for it like Quatre."

            "See?! Another thing: No one pays any attention to me!"

            "WE DO TOO!" both girls said in unison.

            "Do not. No one ever pays attention to little Duo…" He sniffed in mock-sadness. "I think I'll go drown myself now…" He walked over to the edge of the pool slowly and dropped in. Lizz shook her head.

            "That boy…" Duo's head popped out of the water.

            "Just kidding!" he said with a smile. Just then, Quatre came back with a tray of glasses full to the brim with ice-cold lemonade.

            "Back!" He set his tray down on one of the tables and handed everyone glasses as Duo got back out of the pool.  "Here's one for you, and one for you, and one for you, and one for you-" Courtney reached up to grab her glass. Her hand touched his, and he paused. He recovered quickly and sat down in the next chair. "-and one for me." He took a sip and leaned his head back, his eyes closed. He sighed. "It's such a nice day out."

            "Yeah," Courtney agreed. "Nice day for swimming." Everyone seemed to agree. Courtney leaned back and sipped her lemonade. No one said anything for a while. 

            "I'm ready to go back in!" Duo said suddenly, sounding, as usual, very energetic. He stood up and loomed over Lizz, expecting her to do the same. Instead, Lizz groaned.

            "Not now, Duo…" Quatre stood up.

            "I'm ready for a go," he said. Trowa drained the rest of his glass and also stood.

            "I suppose I'll come." Courtney shook her head.

            "Not me. I'll just sit here for a while longer." Quatre shook his head with a smile.

            "No you won't. You're coming swimming. I didn't come all the way out here to sit around all day, doing nothing," he said.

            "Yeah, well come and make me," she teased. Quatre smiled craftily.

            "If you insist." It took Courtney about 2 seconds to realize what he meant by that. Her eyes widened suddenly and she jumped out of her seat, about to make a run for it, but Quatre grabbed her and lifted her into the air.

            "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" She screamed. "Put me down!"

"Your wish is my command." Courtney abruptly changed her mind, knowing what he was going to do.

"No no no! Pick me up, pick me up, pick me-" But Quatre threw her in anyway. She fell into the water with a splash, cutting off her screaming. She immediately surfaced. "You're going to pay for that, Quatre Winner!" she said, shaking her fist at him. Quatre laughed at her seemingly idle threat.

"Yeah yeah, I'd like to see you try!" he said, leaning over the pool.

"Oh really?" She made a grab for his ankle in an attempt to pull him in, but he was one step ahead of her.

            "Ha ha, missed!" With his foot he pushed her head back under the water, laughing. Courtney, again, resurfaced.

            "I'm going to get you!" She pulled herself up out of the pool and set off chasing him around the yard. The other three merely laughed at their antics and Lizz, deciding against being forced into the pool, chose to go along with the two remaining boys.

            "Catch me if you can, slow-poke!" Quatre called to Courtney. He continued laughing at her, since he was obviously the faster of the two.

            "Yeah, you won't be laughing when I catch you!!!" she yelled back. Lizz laughed and shook her head.

            "She's never gonna catch him," she stated. Duo agreed.

            "She'll get tired in a minute, then they'll stop," Trowa said. So they decided it would be best if they just jumped off the side and into the pool until Quatre and Courtney gave up their little squabble, occasionally jumping out of the way as the duo ran by, nearly knocking them into the water. As Trowa had predicted, Courtney soon tired and trudged back to her lounge chair. She collapsed into it and took a long swig of her lemonade. Quatre jogged up to her, still grinning.

            "Ready for a swim?" he joked. Courtney merely glared and tried to catch her breath. Slowly, her breathing returned to normal.

            "You have GOT to be kidding," she told him.

            "Do I have to throw you in again?" he warned. She smiled.

            "If you threw me in now I'd drown. I don't have any energy left!"

            "Yeah, and we wouldn't want that, now, would we?" Lizz called from the pool.

            "I'd shut your mouth if I were you!" Courtney yelled back.

            "Yeah, and what are you gonna do?"

            "Nothing, right now, except rest." With that, she leaned back and closed her eyes. Quatre sighed.

            "Fine then. I'll just have to go in without you," he said, acting as if he was really hurt. He ran off the diving board and jumped into the pool, resurfacing in a few seconds. He swam over to the rest of the group and they started another volleyball game.

            "And we win!" Lizz yelled, jumping in her joy. Quatre looked rather sullen.

            "I'll have you know that's the first time I've ever lost a volleyball game…" he said.

            "Aw, c'mon Quat. It's not that bad," Duo said. "You didn't lose by much!" Trowa nodded.

            "And besides that, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. I missed quite a few shots too, you know," he said.

            "Yeah!" Courtney called from the sidelines. "Don't be such a poor sport!" Quatre shot her a mean look, surprising the young woman.

            "Well," Duo said. "I'm ready for another break, how 'bout you guys?" he asked. Everyone nodded and got out of the pool. Without anyone noticing, Courtney slipped her sunglasses under her chair and stood up, as if to stretch from sitting down so long.

            "I'm going in, I suppose. I might as well swim while the pool's free," she said. She jumped off the diving board and into the deep end. She swam underwater as far as she could and came up for air. Courtney shook her head to get the hair out of her face. "I feel better," she said cheerfully. Courtney laid back on her back and floated for a while, staring up at the sky.

            "Hey Court," Lizz called, trying to get her attention.

            "Yeah?" came the answer.

            "LOOK OUT!" she said, landing in the water next to her. Courtney sat up straight, coughing. Lizz came up for air. "Are you ok?" she asked.

            "Yeah," Courtney said, coughing a bit between words. "I'm- *cough cough* fine! Just swallowed a bit of- *cough* water, that's *cough cough cough* all." Courtney, still coughing, swam over to the nearest ladder and began to climb up. Quatre was waiting at the top, his hand outstretched.

            "Here, lemme help," he said. Courtney took his hand, glad for the help, and stepped out of the pool. She sat back down, coughed a bit more, and took a sip of her lemonade. Lizz had followed her out.

            "Are you sure you're ok?"

            "Yeah," Courtney said, feeling much better now.

            "I'm SO sorry, Court. I wasn't thinking."

            "Hey, it's OK," Courtney reassured her.

"You sure?"

            "YES."

            "Ok then…" Lizz sat down next to her, still a little worried. Courtney watched her out of the corner of her eye.

            "Lizz, I'm not going to DIE anytime soon, so GO SWIM!" she said finally. Lizz grinned sheepishly.

            "Oh, right. Sorry." Lizz got up and walked over to the pool. She stopped about halfway and turned around.

            "Are you sur-"

            "GO!" Lizz grinned.

            "Just joking," she said. Shaking her head, she leapt into the pool. Duo laughed.

            "Just what's so funny?" Courtney asked, slightly annoyed.

            "You two," he replied. "It's just kinda funny, ya know?" Quatre laughed too.

            "Yeah, I suppose it is rather amusing," he said. Courtney crossed her arms.

            "I don't see what's so funny." Quatre nudged her with his elbow.

            "C'mon, lighten up," he told her. "Don't be so up-tight." Courtney relaxed for a moment. 

"I suppose you're right." Courtney reached for her sunglasses. When her hand felt nothing, she sat up and began looking around. "NOW where'd they go?!" All three boys watched her in amusement. "They were here a second ago!"

            "What were?" Trowa asked.

            "My sunglasses!" she exclaimed. "I can't find them!" Courtney began pacing around the edge of the pool, searching the ground with her eyes. Her eyes fell on the pool and they widened. "Oh no!"

            "What?" Quatre asked.

            "My sunglasses are at the bottom of the pool!" she cried.           

            "WHERE?!" Duo and Quatre stood up and ran to the edge of the pool immediately. Lizz giggled.

            "There! Right there!" she said, pointing.

            "Where? I don't see them," Quatre said. Courtney sighed, sounding exasperated.

            "Of course you don't see them! They're made of BLUE GLASS!!! Right THERE," she said, coming around behind the two boys.

            "I still don't see them," Duo said.

            "Me neither," said Quatre.

            "Well let me give you a closer look!" Courtney pushed Quatre from behind, causing him to lose his balance.

            "WHOA!!!" he cried. Quatre tried to grab something, ANYTHING, that would help him regain his balance, but to no avail. His arms flailing, Quatre hit the water with a splash. When he resurfaced for air, everyone was laughing at him.

            "Oops, sorry Quatre," Courtney said in a sly tone. "Clumsy me." She walked over to her chair, and looked down, pretending to have just spotted her sunglasses. "Oh, look! Here they are! Sorry, my mistake," she said in the same tone. Laughing, she sat back down on her chair and watched as a very embarrassed Quatre climbed out of the pool. "Told ya I'd get you back," she said as he sat down next to her. He smiled, trying to hide what his mind was thinking.

            "Yeah, you did." _But what you don't know is that this isn't over just yet…_

            "Heads up!" Lizz yelled as she spiked the ball over their makeshift net of string. The ball hit Duo right in the face. Duo blinked, crossed-eyed for a moment. He shook his head rapidly, then rubbed his sore nose.

            "Nice hit," Duo said sarcastically.

            "Yes. Too bad it wasn't a REAL volleyball or your nose might be broken," came a familiar voice from behind them.

            "Ha ha, very funny, Wu-man," Duo shot back.

            "Oh, Wufei. So you fell for their "evil ways" as well," Quatre said slyly.

            "No, actually, I just figured I deserved a break. After all, _I have been working all day. Unlike some people," he said, shooting a glance towards the girls._

            "Yeah? Like what?"

            "Like washing the dishes, which I believe was YOUR job, Maxwell?" Duo looked away.

            "Forgot about that…" he said quietly.

            "And I believe YOUR job was to clean off that desk, Wufei," came Heero's voice. Heero was also wearing swim trunks, so it was obvious that both boys were going swimming. He shook his head. "If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times: don't make a mess if you don't intend to clean it up." Wufei shot him a dirty look.

            "Yeah, and what have YOU been doing all day, Yuy?" The girls watched helplessly as the boys continued to bicker back and forth. Courtney sighed.

            "We're never going to have any fun…" she complained to Lizz, who agreed.

            "Let's go, they'll be in in a few minutes. They don't seem to need us, anyway." Both girls swam to the edge of the pool cautiously and began to get out when the sudden signs of movement caught Quatre's eye.

            "Where are you two going?" he asked suddenly, startling them both so much that Lizz fell back into the pool.

            "We were going back inside," Court said quietly. "You don't seem to need us anymore, after all." Duo looked sadly at the girls.

            "Oh, we're sorry, girls," he said. "Guess we got a little carried away."

            "WE?" Wufei asked.

            "Yes, WE, as in you and the rest of them," Trowa said, since he was the only one who hadn't said anything at all.

            "I suppose we owe you an apology," Quatre stated.

            "No, that's ok. We fight a lot too," Lizz said.

            "Not like us."

            "Do too," Courtney said. "You should have seen us the other night. We were insulting each other for about 15 minutes!" Duo smiled.

            "I find that hard to believe," he said. Court shrugged.

            "Just shows how much you know us. Now are we gonna finish that volleyball game or not?"

            "We win! We win!" Duo gloated over his team's victory. "Ha! Beat you again, Lizz!"

            "Technically you didn't win the first game," she said, sticking her tongue out at him playfully. Duo shrugged.

            "Who's counting, huh?"

            "Alright, alright, enough already! Sheesh. You won, Duo, we get the picture," Courtney said, laughing.

            "Hey, we helped too," Quatre said. Trowa nodded.

            "Yes. Duo didn't do it all." Courtney sighed, exasperated.

            "FINE. YOU GUYS won. There, better?" Quatre grinned.

            "Much better." Courtney rolled her eyes.

"So what now?" she asked. Lizz shrugged.

"I'm getting kinda tired of volleyball," she admitted.

"Yeah, me too," Quatre agreed.

"I was as well," said Trowa. Duo frowned.

"Am I the only one who finds the true fun in volleyball? Hey Heero, Wufei, ya wanna have a go?" Heero lowered his sunglasses.

"Not right now, thanks…" he said, going back to sunbathing.

"Wufei?" Duo looked at him hopefully. Wufei shook his head.

"No thanks, Maxwell." Duo smiled wryly.

"What are you, chicken?"  Wufei froze.

"No," Wufei said finally. "I just don't feel like it." Duo kept on.

"Wufei's a chicken! Wufei's a chicken!" Duo proceeded to cluck and flap his arms like wings. "Wufei's a chicken!" The Chinese boy's anger grew and grew. Finally…

"FINE! I'll do it _AND_ beat you!" Wufei said, standing up. His fists clinched, he jumped off the diving board, swam over to the net, and grabbed the ball.

"Ha! Second win today!!" Duo smiled, holding up the ball. "I ROCK!" Duo danced around with the ball held above his head. "I beat Wufei, I beat Wufei!!" Both girls laughed at his crazy antics.

"He is SO full of it," Courtney said, shaking her head.

"Tell me about it," Lizz agreed. Duo made his way over to Quatre and high-fived him.

"I won!!! I won!!!" Wufei muttered something as he exited the pool, face red with a mixture of embarrassment and anger. He'd been beaten by about 12 points. Heero smirked at him as he sat down.

"Beaten again, eh Wufei?" Wufei merely glared at him in pure fury.

"Aw c'mon, Wufei! Don't be such a poor sport!" Lizz called from the pool.

"Yeah, c'mon! Join us!" Courtney agreed.

"I'd rather not, thanks." Quatre shrugged.

"Suit yourself," he said. Wufei grunted. Quatre got out of the pool and walked over to the diving board. He ran to the very edge and jumped as far as he could off the springing board, landing with a great splash in front of the girls. He came up for air.

"Quatre! That was rude!" Courtney said, wiping the water from her eyes.

"I thought it was funny," Lizz said.

"But he didn't come this close to kicking you in the face!" Courtney said, holding her fingers apart about an inch. Quatre laughed.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that…" He grinned. Courtney stuck out her bottom lip and got out of the pool, heading for the diving board just as Duo jumped off.

"LOOK OUT!!!" he yelled, cannon-balling into the pool beside Quatre, knocking him under. Both boys came up coughing. "Whoa! Swallowed too much water!" Duo said, hitting himself in the chest. Courtney leaned over the edge of the pool.

"Quatre, you ok?" Quatre smiled.

"Yeah, but YOU'RE NOT!" He grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into the water. She struggled to break free from his grip, but he was too strong for her. He finally let her up. As soon as her head broke the water, she gasped for air.

"What'd- you do- that for?" she asked between breaths.

"To get you back," he said simply. He dunked her under again, and let her up after a few seconds.

"Help!" Quatre dunked her yet again. This was more fun than he'd thought. Court came up, sputtering and coughing. "Eeee! Quatre, le-" Before she could finish, she was under the water again. Quatre let her go and got out of the pool in a hurry. Courtney came back up for air and glared at him. "I'm going to KILL YOU!" She pulled herself up out of the pool, not bothering to use the ladder, and chased after him. "You're not getting away this time!" Quatre just laughed at her.

"You can't catch me! Face it! You're SLOW!"

"I'm not slow!!!" Courtney put on an extra burst of speed in her frustration, nearly catching up with him. This caught him by surprise.

"Ah!"  She made a grab for him, but missed by inches. "Help!" Courtney almost laughed in satisfaction.

"I've got you now!!" The rest of the group watched the two in amusement as Courtney continuously missed Quatre by a short distance. Lizz had an idea.

"Be right back!" She ran inside and searched through her bags until she found what she was looking for. "Ah, there you are!"

"Back!" Lizz called as she ran back outside. Courtney and Quatre were on the other side of the house. She could still hear Quatre's cries for help and Courtney's endless threats. When they came back around, Lizz threw her loaded squirt gun at Courtney. "Catch!" Courtney caught the gun with a grateful look.

"Thanks Lizz! You're the best!" Lizz smiled back.

"Just shoot him, already!" she called.

"Oh, right!" Courtney took off after Quatre again. "Hey Quatre! Look what I got!" Quatre looked over his shoulder.

"WHAT!? A SQUIRT GUN?! THAT'S NOT FAIR! Where'd you get it?!"

"Lizz. Now, it's pay-back time!" Courtney pumped up the gun and blasted Quatre with a stream of cold water. He squeaked in surprise.

"HELP!!!" Things had certainly turned around. It'd gone from a hopeless chase to a chaotic battle, with Courtney, at this point, winning.

"REVENGE! SWEET REVENGE!!" Courtney began to laugh hysterically as she continued to blast him. Suddenly, the stream stopped. "Hey! What gives?!" Courtney looked at her water bottle. "Oh man! Empty!" She walked over to the pool and unscrewed the bottle. Meanwhile, Duo motioned for Quatre to follow him.

"This hose'll reach around the house several times," he said, handing Quatre the nozzle. "When she comes at you again, blast her! For me," he added. Quatre nodded, an evil grin on his face.

"Don't worry, I'll get her. I'll get her good…" Still holding the nozzle, Quatre walked over behind Courtney and tapped her on the shoulder.

"WHAT?!" she exclaimed, slightly annoyed.

"Looks like the tables have turned," he said. Court turned around.

"What are you- EE!" Courtney had just enough time to scream before a rush of cold water washed over her body. She took off running, trying to get out of the reach of the garden hose, but to no avail. Quatre was chasing her before you could say "Jack rabbit." "NONONONONONONONONONONONONO!!! THIS ISN'T FAIR!!! YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO FIGHT BACK!!!!" she screamed, running as fast as she could from Quatre's fury.

"Well, you wanted an UNFAIR fight," he called to her.

"QUATRE, STOP IT! THAT'S COLD!!!" Courtney kept whining at him threw her clinched teeth. "I'M SERIOUS! THAT WATER'S FREEZING!!!! STOP IT!!! QUATRE!!!" Lizz shook her head. The battle seemed hopeless. Then she had another idea.

"Duo," she said, "do you have any balloons?"

"Sure, in the hall closet, top shelf. Why?" But Lizz was already gone. She had a plan to help Court.

Inside the house, Lizz could still hear Courtney's pitiful screams. She shook her head and headed for the closet, where Duo said he stashed the balloons. Searching through a few shoeboxes, she finally found them and took them to the bathroom. Looking under the kitchen sink, she found two buckets. "Well, this was easy…" she said to herself. Once back in the bathroom, Lizz began to slowly, one by one, fill the balloons with water. She easily filled up both buckets, and, with some difficulty, carried them both outside. "Courtney, over here!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. Courtney ran over to Lizz in a hurry, trying to get away from Quatre as long as she could. While Lizz was gone, Courtney had put a kink in the hose, and Quatre was currently trying to figure out why the water quit coming.

"What is it?" Courtney asked, out of breath. She shivered slightly from the cold water she was drenched in.

"Water balloons," Lizz said, smiling mischievously. Courtney smiled.

"Thanks, you're great!" Lizz smiled back.

"I know." Quatre was still tracing the hose back to the faucet.

"I don't get it…" he muttered to himself. "What happened?"

"Oh Quatre," Courtney said, tossing a water balloon into the air and catching it again. _Uh oh… Quatre didn't like the tone she was using. Slowly he turned around to face the horror before him._

"Yeah?"

"ATTACK!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. Both girls began bombarding him with the little water-bombs.

"HELP!!!" Quatre screamed. He ran back and forth across the yard, the girls chasing him with water balloons. A few hit him in the back of the head as he ran near the pool. "Help!" he cried again. He ran past Duo, who had to jump to the side to avoid getting run over. Lizz picked up another balloon and threw it. It went wide, missing Quatre. But it hit something; Duo Maxwell. She covered her mouth and gasped.

"Oh my gosh! Duo! I'm so sorry!!!" Duo picked a piece of orange balloon from his hair and stared at it for a moment. Then he looked at Lizz. She ran up to him. "I am SO sorry, Duo! I didn't mean to! It's just, Quatre, and-"

"I understand…" he said finally.

"You do?"

"I understand… that you're going to pay!!" Lizz's eyes widened in shock as Duo picked her up and threw her in the pool. Wufei snickered at her.

"Oh, you think it's funny, do you?" Courtney asked. She threw a water balloon and him straight in the face. Wufei shook his head to rid it of the excess water and glared at her.

"You'll pay, cocky little onna!" He grabbed a water balloon and threw it. He missed and hit Trowa instead. Wufei realized his mistake as soon as it hit and took off running. Trowa threw one and hit Wufei in the back as he retreated behind a table. Quatre took the opportunity to throw one at Courtney. However, he missed, and hit the only dry person left: Heero.

"Oh dear." Quatre ran away as fast as he could, but Heero hit him with a balloon anyway. Courtney giggled at him, but stopped when Wufei finally got his revenge, hitting her in the back of the head.

"Ow! You're gonna pay for that!" Soon, there was an all-out brawl between everyone, and the air was filled with flying water balloons. However, the supply quickly ran out, and everyone collapsed on the lawn, exhausted.

"Had- enough?" Lizz gasped, turning her head to Heero.

"I'm- just- getting- started," he breathed back. Courtney had barely caught her breath when Quatre leaned over her.

"You ok?" Courtney nodded.

"Just tired," she said. After a while, Duo jumped up.

"Anyone for volleyball?" Everyone groaned. 


	10. Chapter 10

ºDeceiving Fateº

CHAPTER X:

            Tired after their long day of exercise, everyone trudged back to the house. Before she rounded the corner, Quatre stopped Courtney and she whirled around to face him. She seemed a bit surprised when she suddenly found herself face-to-face with Quatre.

            "What, Quatre?" she said finally.

            "Well, I was wondering… well, that is, I kinda wanted to know if you'd like to- well, what I mean is-" he stuttered. Quatre took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Would you… like to go out to dinner tonight?" Courtney was shocked. _GO FOR IT! her heart screamed. __NOW'S YOUR CHANCE! She searched her mind for the right words to say. She didn't want to say no, but then again, she didn't want to sound too eager, either._

            "Well, I-"

            "If you don't wanna go, that's fine. I understand," Quatre lied.

            "No no! I'd love to go!" Oh no, now she'd done it. Her thoughts were dismissed when his face brightened.

            "You do?" Courtney smiled, blushing a little at his eager expression.

            "Yeah, I, uh, didn't know if I'd have anything to wear," she lied. Quatre looked relieved.

            "Oh, well that's ok. Just wear something nice; anything that makes you look pretty. Well, not that you're NOT pretty, I mean, you're VERY pretty, but, uh, I meant-" Courtney giggled, a little embarrassed.

            "It's ok, I know." Quatre looked ready to beat himself up.

            "Yeah, well…"

            "I guess I'll see you tonight, then," she said. "I gotta go grab the shower before Lizz does. Chlorine's not good for the hair." Quatre laughed.

            "Yeah, I suppose so. See ya, Court."

            "See ya." She turned away and headed for the house.

            "Oh, and Court?" Courtney turned around and looked at him hopefully. _Please let him say what I think he's going to say…! Please! she urged inside._

            "Yeah?" _I love you… Quatre couldn't bring himself to say it._

            "N- Never mind."

            "Oh, alright." Courtney turned away again, a little disappointed. She walked inside the house and closed the door. Quatre hesitated, still around the corner. He hadn't followed her inside. Quatre looked around to make sure no one was watching. _All clear… _

"YES!!!!"

Courtney walked into the room and closed the door behind her, leaning against it for a minute. Had those last few minutes been real, or a dream? She wasn't quite sure. But she did understand the giddy feeling in her heart. "I just can't believe it. It HAD to have been a dream," she said to herself.

"What was a dream?" Lizz asked, coming out of the bathroom, drying her hair with a towel. Courtney jumped.

"Oh, Lizz. I didn't know you were there," Court said nervously.

"What was a dream?" Lizz repeated.

"Nothing," she said quickly.

"Courtney…"

"Fine, fine! Oy! Is nothing sacred?" Lizz laughed.

"Sorry, but you know me. Nosy to the core." It was Courtney's turn to laugh.

"Yeah." Courtney took a deep breath. "Promise not to tell?"

"Promise, cross my heart, hope to die." Courtney sighed. She finally gathered up her courage.

"Well, I've got a, um… date, tonight." Lizz was shocked.

"WITH WHO, WITH WHO, WITH WHO!?" She practically jumped up and down with excitement.

"I'll give you one guess and it doesn't count," Courtney said, smiling.

            "Seriously!? Quatre?! Did he ask you, or you ask him?" Courtney laughed.

            "Do I REALLY have to tell you?"

            "YOU MEAN HE ACTUALLY ASKED?!" Courtney just nodded. "Good grief!" Lizz flopped onto the bed. She stared at the ceiling for a moment. "Do ya think Duo'll ever ask ME out?"

            "I'm sure he will," Courtney reassured her.

            "Really?" Court smiled.

            "Yeah."

            Duo spit out his coffee. "A DATE!?"

            "Shh, keep it down!" Quatre hissed. "I don't want the whole WORLD to know!"

            "Sorry. But it just surprised me." Quatre frowned.

            "Why?"

            "Well, you, uh, just don't seem the, well, type-" Quatre laughed.

            "I know what you mean. I could hardly believe it myself!"

            "Man, Quatre, I envy you. I wish I had your kinda courage."

            "Courage? Are you nuts?! I was scared to death!"

            "But you asked her, didn't you?"

            "Yeah, but-"

            "See, courage. You actually asked her. Me, I chicken out  'fore I even get her attention!" Duo sighed. "I just can't do it!" He pounded the table with his fist in his frustration. Quatre sat down next to him.

            "Yes you can. Want a tip?"

            "Sure," Duo replied monotonously.

            "…Don't look her in the face." Duo laughed. "No, I'm serious! I couldn't even look at her!" Dou continued laughing. He shook his head.

            "We're both hopeless," he said finally. "But thanks for the pick-up anyway."

            "Welcome, Duo. Well, I better go take a shower. See ya later."

            A young man with short, dark hair walked into the gloomy room. The only things inside were a few vid-screens and a large roller-chair. He stood there a few minutes, obviously waiting for something. "I was told you had news for me, McGregor," came a voice. Whoever it was was obviously sitting in the chair, but no living thing was visible. The sound of typing filled the room, and the screens began to slowly change, each one bringing up a full visual file of each of the five Gundam pilots.

            "Yes sir, I do. Winner is going out tonight." The typing stopped.

            "You disturbed me for THIS? I'm disappointed in you, McGregor."

            "Well, sir, that's not all." The figure in the chair sighed.

            "Go on then," he said.

            "He's going out… with a GIRL, sir." **__**

            "A GIRL?"

            "Yes sir." The man in the chair smiled an evil smile, hidden in the shadows.

            "And does he have FEELINGS for this girl…?"

            "Yes sir, he does." There was a moment of silence in the room. The blue glow from the screens filled the room. **__**

            "Well, this COULD play to our advantage. Have you informed Evers?"

            "Not yet, sir."

            "Do so. I want him informed."

            "Yes sir. Will that be all, sir?"

            "Yes, yes, that'll be fine, McGregor." The one known as McGregor left the room. "Well well, looks like we have a bit of an edge on this pilot…" The vid-screens changed to bring up numerous files on Quatre Raberba Winner, pilot of the Sandrock Gundam. The figure in the chair laughed, his cruel mind already thinking of plots for his sick satisfaction.

            Courtney searched frantically through her many drawers and bags of clothes for something to wear tonight. She had about half an hour to get ready, and she was completely stumped. "NO NO NO! UGH! I spend FIVE HOURS shopping and I still have NOTHING to wear!" She decided to re-search the closet as Lizz walked into the room.

            "Whatcha… doing?" Lizz asked, surveying the mess that the room was now in.

            "I CAN'T FIND ANYTHING TO WEAR! DARN IT!!" Courtney wrenched open the closet door and searched through all of her nicer dresses. "No, no, no…" She sighed and turned to Lizz. "Can you help me?"

            "I dunno… I was never much for fashion," she stated.

            "PLEASE?" Courtney looked at her hopelessly. Lizz sighed.

            "Fine." She walked over to the closet. "Hmmm…" Lizz searched through the clothes, examining each one with care. "How about this one?" she asked, holding out a one-sleeve cranberry dress, complete with slanted bottom and ruffles.

            "Erm… no, don't think so," Courtney said. "A bit too… bright." Lizz shrugged.

            "Ok then… how about THIS one?" Lizz held up a sleeveless black dress. It was rather short, and the skirt was split on both sides, held together by tiny gold chains. Around the waist, at least in the front, was another gold chain, and the outfit was completed with two black cuffs, meant to be worn on the upper-arms. Courtney's eyes widened.

            "It's PERFECT!" She snatched it from Lizz's grasp and ran into the bathroom. Once changed, she walked out of the bathroom, barefoot. "What do ya think?" she asked. Lizz smiled.

            "It suits you," she said. "But what about shoes…?" Lizz went back into the closet and pulled out a pair of high-heeled, black sandals. She looked at her friend with a questioning look.

            "Wow! Forgot I had those…" Courtney grinned. Slipping them on her once-bare feet, Courtney stood in front of the mirror and turned around a few times. "I think I like it!" she said with satisfaction.

            "Yeah, but will Quatre?" Lizz teased, knowing the effect it would have on Court. The American froze.    

            "Oh my gosh! What if he doesn't like it?! What if-"

            "Calm down, Court. I was joking. He'll love it."

            "Ya think so?"

            "Sure. Now let's do something with that face of yours." Lizz steered her into the bathroom.

            "Where IS she?" Quatre tapped his foot impatiently and looked at his watch. Courtney actually wasn't late, but Quatre was anxious. He was so nervous… Someone tapped him on the shoulder. Quatre jumped, then, gathering himself, turned around. "Oh, hello Duo."

            "Hey Quatre! Waiting for Courtney?" Quatre nodded.

            "Yeah."

            "Ya nervous?"

            "OH yeah!" Quatre smiled. "I can't wait to see her, but then again I sort of dread going out tonight… What if I make a fool of myself?" Duo looked him in the face and smiled.

            "Don't worry, you won't."

            "Yeah, right." Lizz ran down the stairs and caught sight of Quatre, running over to him.

            "Oh! Good! Here you are! Oh, hello Duo," she added, noticing him standing there.

            "…Hi." Lizz turned Quatre to face the stairs.     

            "Ok, Court! Come on down!!!"

            "…Do I have to…?" came the weak reply.

            "You can't back out NOW!"

            "…Is Quatre there?"

            "Well, DUH!" **__**

            "…I CAN'T DO IT!" Lizz sighed.

            "Be right back…" she trudged up the stairs and tried to coax Courtney downstairs. "Come on! Do you really want to back out now?"

            "No…"

            "Then GO!" Lizz shoved Courtney into view over to the railing near the stairs that over-looked the living room.

            "…Hey, Quatre…" Courtney grinned, a little embarrassed. Quatre's jaw dropped. She looked wonderful. Duo peered around Quatre's shoulder and popped his mouth shut. Quatre shook himself out of his trance and smiled up at her. **__**

            "Hey, Courtney." Lizz appeared behind Courtney and steered her towards the stairs. Courtney started down them, Lizz following her, almost like a shadow. Courtney finally stepped off the bottom step and started towards both boys.

            "Well, what do you think?" Lizz asked, peaking from behind Courtney.

            "I think she looks nice!" Duo said. Courtney laughed.

            "Thanks, Duo. Lizz, erm, helped…" Lizz grinned.

            "Yeah, you look, um, great!" Quatre couldn't quite find the words to say.

            "You don't like it…?" Courtney asked, frowning a little.

            "Oh, no! I do, I really do!" Quatre said quickly. _That didn't come out right at all…_

            "He's just, kinda, speechless, that's all, Court," Duo said. Quatre looked ready to kill. Catching his gaze, Duo cleared his throat. "Yes, well, we'll just, leave you two alone… C'mon Lizz!" Duo grabbed her arm before she could object and dragged her into the kitchen. "Have fun!" Duo called. He closed the door quickly. Courtney, a little confused, just stared at the door for a moment.

            "What was… THAT all about…?"

            "Nothing. Let's get going." Courtney shrugged.

            "Alright. Let's take my car, they might need the SUV."

            "Oh, alright. Should I drive, or you?" Quatre grinned at her.

            "…I suppose you can drive," she said, giving in to his adorable smile.

            "Yay! They NEVER let me drive anymore. Always Trowa or Heero…" Courtney laughed as they walked out the door. **__**

            "Why does that not reassure me?"

            "Hey, I can drive!" he defended. Quatre grabbed the keys off they're hook and shut the door.

            "Duo, what was THAT all about?!" Lizz exclaimed, watching the nervous young man search through the fridge absent-mindedly.

            "Oh, nothing. Absolutely nothing," he replied quickly.

            "Uh HUH." Lizz sighed and shrugged. "Oh well. I'll never know." She sat down at the table and rested her head in her hands. Her elbow touched something cold. At first she thought someone had spilt something on the table, but when she looked it was a silver necklace.

            "Hey, who's necklace? Yours?" Duo asked her, sitting down across from her.

            "No. I don't think it's Courtney's…" Quatre rushed back into the room and snatched it off the table.

            "Forgot that!" he said as he ran out of the kitchen. Both Lizz and Duo looked at each other, an eyebrow raised. Lizz opened her mouth to say something, but Duo interrupted her before she uttered a sound.

            "We'll never know."

            Quatre practically jumped back into the car. "What was it you forgot, Quatre?" Courtney asked as he started the little Volkswagen.

            "My wallet," he lied, starting down the driveway.

            "Oh." There was an awkward silence as Quatre finally pulled out onto the street. Neither one spoke for a while. So, uh," Courtney stuttered, "where are we, um, going?" Quatre smiled.

            "It's a surprise," he said simply. 

            "Oh c'mon! Tell me, Quatre!" she pleaded.

            "No." Quatre shook his head.

            "PLEASE?" He looked over at her, taking his eyes off the road for a second. She looked so pathetic…

            "Oh alright." Courtney's face brightened. "Hope you like Mexican food."          

            "Mexican?!" she exclaimed.

            "Oh, did I make the wrong choice?"

            "No, it's great! I LOVE Mexican food!!" Quatre, again, looked relieved.

            "Thank goodness." Courtney laughed.

            "Yeah. Wouldn't you be embarrassed if I didn't like Mexican foods!"

            "Yeah," he muttered. "Oh, look, here we are!" He pulled into the driveway and stopped the car. "Ready?"

            "As ready as I'm gonna be," she replied.

            "Then let's go!"

            They walked into the restaurant arm-in-arm, both of them feeling a little nervous. After all, this was their first date. "Ah, Señor Winner!" Someone said in a strong Spanish accent. "How good it is to see you again!" Quatre nodded.

            "Hello, Miguel. How have you been?"**__**

            "Bien, bien! (translation: Fine, fine) And you?"

            "Fine, thank you." Miguel had not noticed Courtney until now.

            "And who is this lovely señorita?" he asked. Court blushed.

            "Miguel, I'd like you to meet Miss Courtney Richards. She and her friend Lizz are staying with us for the time being," he said in his formal tone.  

            "How good of you to come, Señorita Richards. Welcome to my restaurant! Señor Winner is one of our favorite guests, and, as you say, any friend of his is a friend of ours. Welcome!" he repeated. Courtney felt rather awkward, but knowing he had the best intentions, smiled and thanked him anyway.

            "I'm glad to be here. I absolutely love Mexican food!" Miguel smiled.

            "Not wanting to boast, señorita, but I believe we have the finest in the whole city!" Quatre put a hand on his shoulder.

            "That you do, Miguel. Well, we'd best get seated."

            "I shall escort you myself!"

  The doorbell rang. "I got it!" Lizz yelled as she ran to the door. Opening it revealed a young woman about her own age with short, shoulder-length blonde hair. She was wearing a blue tank top, embroidered around the collar with white roses, with white jean shorts to go with them. The girl seemed surprised at seeing Lizz at the door instead of a familiar face. "…Who are you?" Lizz asked bluntly, shocked to see a girl on their front porch.

  "RAE!" Duo yelled in recognition. "What are YOU doing here?" Lizz was even more shocked at this. He KNEW this girl?!

  "I figured I'd stop by on my way to town. You KNOW I don't get down here that often. Dad's not too high on me going out alone."

  "Yeah," Duo said, smiling.

  "…You know her?" Lizz asked warily.

  "Oh, sure! She and I go WAY back!" Rae laughed.

   "Yeah, we do." Lizz felt a little left out, having not been introduced yet. She cleared her throat, trying to get Duo's attention. Rae giggled. "Who's this, Duo?" she asked, catching what Lizz was trying to say. Duo jumped once he realized whom she meant.

  "Oh, I'm sorry, Lizz! Lizz, meet Rae Hendricks. Rae, this is Lizz Wright. She and her friend, Courtney, are staying with us."

  "She lives with you?"

  "…Yeah, so? You did too, once."

  "I know, I was just confirming-"

  "Look, we're not doing anything, Rae. Courtney and I are staying in the area, and Duo sort of RELIEVED us of our hotel payments." Rae looked relieved.

  "Ok." Rae turned to Duo. "So, where's the rest of the gang? I wanna say 'hi' before I go off shopping." Duo shrugged.

  "Well, Quatre's, um, out-"

  "Really? Wow, I never thought he was the type to go out by himself!" Duo smiled nervously.

  "Yeah, well that's the way it goes!" He laughed a little. "So anyway, Wufei and Heero are probably working on something upstairs, and Trowa's… Well, I'm not too sure about Trowa." Duo grinned a goofy grin.

  "Well, if Heero's busy, I'll just stop by on my way back, if it's not too late." She started for the door. Opening it, she turned around. "Tell Heero that I need to talk to him!"

  "I will!" Duo called.

  "Alright, bye!" She closed the door after her. Lizz immediately turned on Duo.

  "And WHO was SHE?!" she demanded of the startled young man.

  "Well, uh-"

  "She's your girlfriend, isn't she? I KNEW it!" Lizz whirled around to leave the room when he put a firm hand on her shoulder.

  "No, she's not." Lizz turned around. "You shouldn't jump to conclusions." She crossed her arms.

  "Fine. Explain." Duo gulped at the look she was giving him, but continued.

  "After Hilde, my first girlfriend, Rae and I dated a few times, but-"

  "Ah HA!" Duo frowned, a little ticked off at her numerous interruptions.

  "Now hear me out, let me finish!" he yelled, a little louder and more intimidating than he'd intended. Lizz, a little surprised, only nodded. Duo sighed. "After Hilde, we dated a few times, but it wasn't serious. We broke it off a while back, and decided to just be friends, like we were. I've got someone else now." Lizz rolled her eyes.

  "And who would that be?" she asked, still frustrated. He grabbed her gently by the shoulders and looked deep into her eyes.

  "Well, I'm not sure of her name, but let's just say you know her personally," he said as he pulled her close and kissed her lightly. Wufei, Heero, and Trowa peered through the rail at the head of the stairs.

  "Look at that, it's disgusting," Wufei whispered. "That traitor." ****

            "I see nothing wrong with it," Trowa argued. "He's enjoying himself. Let him, while it lasts." Wufei just mumbled and walked back to his room.****

            Dinner had gone well, and both Quatre and Courtney had thoroughly enjoyed it. The fajitas they'd had were especially good, and Courtney had complimented Miguel several times, making him blush every time. Now they were enjoying pleasant conversation, laughing and reflecting on the past hour or so. Suddenly, Courtney realized that they weren't headed home.

            "Um, Quatre?" she asked.

            "Yes?" he asked back, smiling at her.

            "Aren't we, uh, going the wrong way?"

            "No," he said matter-of-factly.

            "But, aren't we going home?" she asked, even more confused.

            "Who told you that?" he asked with a knowing smile. Courtney cocked her head and looked at him questioningly, but he wouldn't say any more. So she sat back in her seat and let him carry her away- where ever they were going.

            Lizz and Duo sat on the couch, with his arm around her shoulders, talking, while Duo flipped the channels with his free arm. Duo sighed and put down the remote control. "Why isn't there ever anything on?" he asked, exasperated. Lizz shrugged.

            "It doesn't matter. I didn't want to watch anything but you," she replied. Duo blushed and didn't say anything at first.

            "You- you mean that?" he stuttered, not daring to look her in the face.

            "'Course I do, Duo," Lizz said. "You know that, I know you do." Duo just smiled and gazed at her. She stared back lovingly into his own crisp blue eyes. They were like an endless sea, constantly sparkling as the sun reflected off the surface. As for her own, she didn't think too kindly of them. Just plain brown, as she saw them. But to Duo, they were beautiful. Like the rest of her. Duo leaned a little closer, and she gazed carefully at him.

            "Lizz?" he asked softly, his gaze faltering for a moment.

            "Yes, Duo?" He paused.

            "I'm hungry." Lizz burst out laughing and hit him with the pillow that sat on the couch behind her.

            "Duo, you are truly something else," she laughed, getting up from the couch. "Well, I suppose we should go find something to eat." Duo eagerly followed her into the kitchen.

            Quatre steered the car down a gravel road that looked as if it hadn't been used in years. There were no signs, and they were now so far away from town that the only available light was no longer the street lights and fluorescent signs; it was the moon. The many trees cast shadows along the path they traveled, creating the effect of painted stripes on the ground. All the way down the road they remained silent, Quatre smiling and Courtney merely confused. The car began to slow and Courtney looked out the window. She didn't have a clue as to where they were, but Quatre did- only he wouldn't tell her. As the car pulled to a stop, Quatre looked over at her and his smile broadened.

            "I know you're not going to be too thrilled, but," he almost laughed at this point, "Close your eyes." Courtney smiled and looked back at him.

            "If I must," she replied as he got out of the car and went around to her side. She heard him open the car door and felt his hand touch hers as he almost lifted her from the ground. Her eyes still closed, Quatre began to lead her down a small footpath deeper into the trees. "Where are we going?" she asked.

            "You'll find out soon enough," was all he would say. He continued to lead her down the path, and a familiar sound met her ears as she and Quatre stepped out from under the shelter of the trees' many boughs.

            "Do I hear water?" she asked, and Quatre let go of her hand.

            "Stay here," he said. She stood there for a moment, alone and almost afraid. Where had he gone? What was happening? Would he be back soon? She almost opened her eyes to look around, but heard footsteps coming towards her. Quatre took her hand and lead her along a little further. Eventually, he stopped. He let go of her hand again and walked a few paces in front of her. "You can open your eyes now." She did. What met her eyes made her gasp. There was a small sailboat sitting at the edge of a giant lake, the surface of which seemed to glow as the moon's light reflected off the water. It was perfect. And there was Quatre, in the midst of it all. The moonlight lit up his whole face, and he was happy. Perfectly happy. And smiling, too. …Smiling at her. Courtney wanted to melt into a puddle of slush on the spot. ****

            "Well, what do ya think?" he asked finally, though he already knew the answer. They say a picture's worth a thousand words; well, her expression was worth plenty.

            "It's wonderful," she whispered in awe, still taking in all that was around her. He stepped forward and took her hand, leading her to the tiny sailboat.

            "Come on, get in," he urged. She stepped gingerly into the boat and sat down. Quatre pushed it into the water and jumped in before it left the land completely, rocking the boat. Courtney grabbed the sides as a sudden pang of fear swept over her. He eased her left hand off the boat and held it in his own. "Hey, it's ok, it's over," Quatre reassured her. She blushed a little and looked away.

            "I just thought…" her voice trailed off as she watched the surface of the water. She watched the ripples as they extended from the boat and spread across the lake. When she looked back up at him, he was still smiling at her, but seemed a bit concerned.

            "You ok?" he asked quietly.

            "Yeah, I'm fine," Courtney replied. She smiled back and Quatre, seemingly satisfied with her answer, scooted a little closer as the wind swept them further out into the lake. Still holding her hand, he looked up at the sky, almost expectantly, and said:

            "Watch." She followed his gaze, and suddenly the whole sky lit up with fireworks. She laughed and turned to look back at the handsome young man across from her.

            "Did you plan this?" she asked slyly. Quatre, too, laughed.

            "No, actually, I didn't," he replied. "It's kind of a colony thing. Every Monday night throughout the months of May, June, and July, they set off fireworks. It's a bit of a pick-up for those of us who don't particularly care for Mondays and what they bring." Courtney smiled more at this.

            "People like me, then." They both laughed and continued to watch the fireworks. They were beautiful, the bursts of brilliant color. Reds, greens, blues, and all sorts of other colors lit up the sky one by one. And if that wasn't astonishing enough, the whole sky was reflected in the calm waters below. They sat there until they were over, occasionally commenting on the arrangements and laughing and just plain enjoying themselves. When the last spark of color had fallen from the sky, and once the last boom had resounded its last, Quatre leaned closer to Courtney.

            "How did you like them?"

            "They were wonderful, Quatre. Truly spectacular."

            "Like you." Courtney blushed, but this time didn't turn away. She felt a little more comfortable with him now, and could look him in the face. "Courtney?"

            "Yes?" It was Quatre's turn to redden.

            "This is a bit personal, so you don't exactly have to answer, but- well, have you ever, like, been in love before?" Courtney's shoulders relaxed. So that was all? She thought she could handle it.

            "Not really…" she admitted. "At least," she said at length, "not 'til now." She smiled at him, but it wasn't an embarrassed sort of smile, it was genuine. Quatre smiled back. Courtney took a deep breath. "Ok, my turn," she said, grinning a little. Quatre shook his head in amusement.

            "Knew it was coming," he said teasingly. She laughed, then continued with her question.

            "Have you ever, well, had a first kiss?"

            "No," he replied, reddening a little more. Courtney seemed surprised.

            "Really? Never? Me either!" she admitted, laughing a little.

            "Really?" he asked back. "Man, what a relief, I thought I was labeled a loser forever!" he added, laughing. She laughed too.

            "But seriously, Quatre. Never?" she asked again. Quatre shook his head. "Well, I'd think that SOME girl would have enough sense to, I dunno, do SOMETHING. I mean, look at you, you're c-" Courtney stopped, and thought of something else to say. _Just say it, Court! He's-_

            "I'm what?" he asked, suspicious in an amused sort of way.

            "Well you're, I mean, you're…" she gulped and finished softly: "Cute." This surprised him so much that he almost fell out of the boat in shock.   

            "What? Cute? ME?" he asked, suddenly full of questions. Courtney nodded and turned a deep shade of red. He smiled and held her close.

            "Well, I think you're beautiful." She looked up at him, eyes shining.

            "Really?"

            "Yeah." She stared at him as he smiled down at her, longing to get closer to him. He was just so warm, not in his body, but in his heart.

            "So never had a first kiss, huh?" He leaned a bit closer.

            "Not 'til now." And he pulled her closer and kissed her. **(**A warmth spread over her body like nothing she'd ever known. She wished the moment could last forever, but knew it couldn't. At last Quatre pulled away, and reached for his back pocket. Bringing his hand back into view, which was now balled into a fist, he opened her hand and Courtney felt something cold slip into it. Opening her hand, she saw that there was the very same necklace she'd seen in the store, sitting right there in her palm!

            "Quatre, I can't-"

            "Sure you can. It's a gift. You're _supposed_ to accept it." He took it and unclasped the ends, then proceeded to hook it back together around her neck. He leaned backwards and stared at her for a moment. "It suits you," Quatre said. Courtney reached her hand up to feel the locket around her neck. She fingered it for a moment, then stared up at Quatre.

            "Thank you," was all she managed to get out. He smiled and nodded.

            "When you wear it, no matter where I am, think of me. I'll always be there." ****

            "In my heart," she added. She leaned forward and gave him a squeeze. "Thank you so much. For everything."

            "Anything for you," he replied. She pecked him lightly on the cheek and looked towards the shore. "You wanna go home?" Quatre asked. She shook her head.

            "I don't want to, but I know I have to sometime," Court replied, smiling. So Quatre turned the sail and they slowly drifted towards the coast.

            "So, Hendricks, you know about the girl, then?" The man known as Hendricks sat in a chair across from someone else. Hendricks was a graying man, looking like he was in his early forties. This round glasses were propped on the end of his nose, and his dark eyes were gray and cold. He smiled an evil smile, and almost laughing, replied:

            "Know about her? I brought her here! Her and her little friend, too." The man in the other chair seemed a bit shocked, and he hesitated for a moment.

            "There are TWO girls?" Hendricks nodded. "And you say you brought them here." He nodded again.

            "That's correct." Once again, the other man paused.

            "From where?"

            "The past."

            "What do you mean, the past? How on earth-"

            "It's a simple process, really," Hendricks interrupted. "I won't bore you with the details, but I basically- How can I put this is simple terms?" Hendricks paused. "I built a time machine."

            "A TIME MACHINE?" The other man sat forward, and the back of his head became visible. He was around the same age as Hendricks. His light hair was turning white around his ears. "Why wasn't I informed?" Hendricks smirked.

            "That just goes to show you how LOYAL your 'employees' are to you, Grey." Grey narrowed his eyes.

            "I don't like your tone, Hendricks." Hendricks chuckled.

            "You never have," he said matter-of-factly.

            "Which is why you work UNDER me now, John."

            "I may work under you, but I'll always be superior. You know that. You have since high school. One day I'll be on top again, you'll see." Hendricks crossed his arms and sat back in his chair. So did Grey.

            "Over my dead body."

            "That can be arranged."

            "You don't scare me, John."

            "You listen to me, Luke, I swear, one day, you'll be sitting in your grave while I control what used to be yours. I'll have everything, and you'll have nothing. You just wait!" Grey laughed.

            "Again with the idle threats, eh Hendricks?" Grey laughed again and shook his head. "Ha! I think it's you who will be lying in the grave."

            "You won't kill me. You need me. Face it. Without me, you're NOTHING." Grey glared at the scientist across from him.

            "You're excused, Hendricks." Hendricks stood up and walked towards the door. "Oh, and John?" Hendricks turned around. "See to it that your head doesn't get any bigger. I don't feel like putting up with it." Hendricks glared back at Grey and left the room enraged. Grey glared at the door for a few more seconds, then swiveled in his chair to press the button on his intercom.

            "Yes, Mr. Grey?" came the voice of a young woman. "What can I do for you?"

            "Send a few spies over to the pilots' home. I want a little more information on these… girls…."

            "Yes sir, right away."

            Laughter filled the living room as Duo finished telling his 10th joke that night. Even Heero was laughing, which is VERY rare. (a/n: Don't I know it.) Wufei walked into the room and began complaining about how loud they were. "Don't you people realize I have work to do?" he asked, annoyed. Lizz finally managed to control her giggles.

            "Oh, there you are!" she said. "Hey Duo, tell him the one about the panda and the restaurant!" Duo laughed.

            "Ok, sure. Alright, once there was this panda, and-" Heero held up his hand for silence.

            "Hold on a second." Trowa leaned forward.

            "What do you hear?" he whispered. Heero's hand went to his pack pocket, where he kept his gun.

            "Someone's at the window." Lizz started to look, but stopped when Heero hissed "No! We don't want them to know we know they're there." Lizz nodded and turned back to Wufei.

            "So… what HAVE you been doing all this time?" she asked, as Heero signaled for them all to continue as normal. He stood up and crept out the back door, gun in hand.

            "That's for me to know and you to find out," he replied with a smirk. Lizz crossed her arms.

            "You're awfully stubborn, you know that?" Wufei was about to reply when they heard yelling and gunshots outside.

            "RUN!"

            "IT'S THAT YUY GUY!"

            "LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!"

            "COME BACK HERE, YOU COWARDS!!!" Quite a few more shots were fired and a yelp of pain came from someone outside. More gunshots. More screaming. Everyone rushed to the window, but it was too dark outside to see anything. Duo ran outside, followed by everyone else when ("I THINK I GOT HIM!") a cry came from Heero. A small car backed out of the driveway in a hurry, and, tires screeching, zoomed out of sight. Duo kneeled next to Heero, who was clutching his shoulder and muttering curse words under his breath.

            "Heero, are you all right?" Lizz asked as Duo helped him up.

            "Sure, just peachy," he replied, still clutching his shoulder. He walked back into the house, and Lizz followed so she could help him with his bandage. The other three boys stared down the road, as if they expected their attackers to come back.

            "Who do you think it was?" Duo asked finally.

            "I'm not sure, but whoever it was, they'll be back," Wufei answered. 

The ride home was silent, except for the soft tune coming from the radio. Courtney hummed along occasionally, being the fast learner that she was. Quatre just smiled as he watched her gaze out the window. He turned his gaze back to road in time to see a car speeding towards them along it. "What the…?" They were well over the speed limit. They swerved around the corner with such speed that they veered into the right lane and Quatre had to turn the wheel so sharply to avoid them that they went into the ditch. Courtney was wide-eyed, scared, and confused. She started shaking as Quatre took off his seatbelt and turned his whole body toward her. "Are you alright?"

            "Yeah, I'm fine. What happened?" she asked, her voice trembling a bit. Quatre shook his head.

            "Probably some drunk driver. I barely missed them!" Courtney took off her seat belt, and trying to avoid the broken glass on the seat followed Quatre out of the driver's side, as her door was jammed shut next to the ground. Once out of the ditch, they both turned around to sum up the damage to the car. "Our car!" she exclaimed. "Look what happened to our car!" Courtney sighed. "Great. This is just great." Quatre put his arm around her drooping shoulders and hugged her.

            "C'mon. Looks like we have to walk home." Courtney sighed again.

            "Ok, let's go." They slowly started walking down the road when Quatre glanced behind them for one last look at the ruined car. His eyes grew two times their usual size and he yelled "GET DOWN!" Quatre pulled her to the ground as the car burst into flame. Courtney covered her head with her hands as pieces of metal flew around. When everything settled back down, both lifted their heads to see that the car was completely engulfed in fire. 

"My car…" Courtney muttered. She was scared, and her face was showing it. It was pale, and there were tears welling up in her eyes. He helped her up and they brushed themselves off. After checking each other for cuts and bruises (they both had quite a few), they set off down the road again, with one last glance at the burning ball of flame that USED to be a car.

The boys were heading back into the house to check on Heero when they heard an explosion from far off, and saw the glow of a blaze a few miles off. "What in the world?" Duo asked. Wufei shrugged, and Trowa continued staring at the red light.

"Think we should go check it out?" he asked. Wufei nodded.

"I'll go tell Yuy where we're going." Duo laughed.

"Knowing him, he'll probably want to go too."

"Wait a second, Quatre." Quatre stopped and turned around, wondering what on earth Courtney could want now. What he saw made him laugh. She'd taken off her shoes and, muttering something, thrown them aside.

"It's not funny! Ever tried to walk a few miles in heels?" Quatre tried to control himself.

"No, can't say that I have," he said, snickering a little. Courtney just glared at him as she stormed off ahead of him. Quatre rolled his eyes and, still shaking his head, followed after her. As they rounded the corner, they saw a pair of headlights coming toward them. Making their way to the side of the road, the car slowed down next to them. The driver's side window rolled down to reveal the driver.

"DUO?" both of them exclaimed.

"Hey guys. Need a ride?"

Duo, Wufei, and Trowa asked them a ton of questions on the way home. "So it was YOUR car that we saw burning?"

"Yeah," Quatre answered, with a glance at Courtney, who had fallen asleep and was now leaning against his shoulder. "Some crazy driver swerved around the corner too fast and ran us off the road."

"Funny. What road were you on?"

"Uh…" Quatre thought about this for a minute. "I think it was Macon, but I'm not sure…" Trowa looked at Wufei, and he nodded. Quatre looked confused.

"Did something happen while we were gone?"

"Yeah, we had a run-in with some idiots. Spies for someone. There weren't any SERIOUS injuries-" Quatre interrupted Duo.

"What do you mean?"

"Heero went to see who it was, and there was a lot of gun-fire…"

"Is he alright?"

"Just a shoulder wound, no biggie."

"No biggie?"

"Hey, he can take care of himself, remember? Besides, Lizz is helping him out at home."

"And what about the rest of you? Is Lizz ok?"

"Oh yeah, she's fine," Duo replied.

"Wish I could say the same for Court…"

"Whatcha mean? She's ok, isn't she?"

"Well, physically, yes," he answered, "but she's had quite a shock."

"She'll get over it," said Wufei.

"I hope so," he said, running his finger along her cheek.

"Heero, I just want to help!"

"I've got it! Just leave me alone!" They heard the yelling even before they walked up to the door. Duo sighed.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Wufei scoffed.

            "Leave it to a woman-"

            "Shut up, 'Fei," Courtney retorted. They opened the door, and the screaming increased.

            "FINE, I DON'T WANT TO HELP ANYMORE!"

            "GOOD! JUST GO AWAY!" Lizz came storming down the hall and looked over the balcony to find Courtney and the others standing on the threshold.

            "Courtney! You're back!" She ran down the stairs and hugged her. Courtney winced. "Oh, I'm sorry Court, I didn't realize you were hurt! Are you ok?"

            "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, rubbing her sore shoulder. The group filed into the living room and sat down as Lizz went to go grab some Band-Aids.

            "I thought I told you to go away," came Heero's voice.

            "Oh shut up, Yuy, I'm not here for you." She snatched the Band-Aids and a bottle of peroxide and went back downstairs, leaving Heero angry and confused. She handed them to Quatre. "Here, you can use these. Heero's still got the cotton."

            "We noticed," Court replied as she followed Quatre into the kitchen. Lizz sat down in the now vacant seat on the couch and sighed.

            "So what was all that screaming about when we came home?" Trowa asked. Lizz started laughing.

            "Heero's a wimp when it comes to peroxide," she replied. All four of them started laughing. Courtney popped her head in.

            "What's so funny?" Lizz waved her off.

            "Never mind, tell you later." Courtney shrugged and went back to cleaning her scrapes.

            "OW! Court, quit!" Duo snickered.

            "Apparently Heero isn't the only one." They started laughing as Heero started down the stairs. "Oh, Heero! How you doing?" Duo asked.

            "Better," Heero replied. He rubbed his sore shoulder, which was now bandaged completely. He sat down on the couch next to Lizz. She scooted a little closer to Duo and muttered:

            "Wimp." Heero glared at her. Duo, trying to keep a straight face, walked into the kitchen to check on Quatre and Courtney. He came back, laughing.

            "What is it, Maxwell?" Wufei asked.

            "Quatre!" was all he would say.

            "Hold still!" Courtney yelled.

            "Well, excuse me! How would you know whether this hurts or not?" Quatre snapped back.

            "I admit it stings, but I've done it since I was little and it doesn't sting THAT much, so quit making such a fuss!" She put her hands on her hips. "You're so stubborn!"

            "Stubborn! Ha! Look who's talking!"

            "I'm not as stubborn as you are!"

            "Yeah, right!"

            "Don't make me get out the iodine."

            "Hey, you've got open wounds too!" Both of them glared at each other for a few minutes, eyes locked. Then Courtney scoffed, muttered something, and went back to tending her own cuts. Occasionally she'd look back up at him, but didn't say anything. Quatre sighed and looked apologetically at her.

            "Hey, I'm sorry. You were just trying to help and I blew my top." Courtney sighed and shook her head.

            "It was my fault, too. You don't need the peroxide if you don't want it."

            "It doesn't sting THAT much; I'll live. But I guess I would've died if you were mad at me much longer. I can't STAND it when you're mad at me. I feel like such a jerk."

            "Don't." She put her hand on his and smiled.

            "…Though you are kinda cute when you're mad…" She hit him playfully and laughed.

            "Silly." Courtney took the box of band-aids and applied one to her shoulder. "There, that should do it. You gonna be ok?"

            "C'mon Court, you know I'm no good at this," Quatre said, holding up the band-aids and peroxide. "Help me out." He DID look rather pathetic… Courtney sighed and smiled.

            "What would you do without me?" she asked, sitting down next to him.

            "Shrivel up and die." Courtney laughed and stuck a band-aid on his arm. Lizz popped her head in the doorway.

            "You two ok in here? We heard screaming." Both of them looked at each other and laughed. Lizz quirked an eyebrow. "Ok…" With that, she left the room. Courtney and Quatre continued laughing until they were sore. Still giggling a little, Courtney slapped on the last band-aid and they both left the kitchen.

            "I see you two are having fun," Duo teased.

            "Yeah, sure," Quatre muttered. He glanced at Courtney and she rolled her eyes. She sat down in the loveseat with Quatre (a/n: Get it? Loveseat? They're in LOVE? :p Ok, corny, but hey.).

            "So how was it? Well, before the accident, I mean," Lizz asked, trying to start a conversation.

            "It was fun," Court said.

            "Just fun?" Quatre asked, acting a bit hurt.

            "Well, I think what went on between us is our business, not theirs," she answered.

            "Ooooh, something SERIOUS happened then!" Lizz exclaimed.

            "NO IT DIDN'T!" the two blondes protested in unison. Lizz started laughing.

            "Yeah, right."

            "It didn't! We just had dinner and-" Quatre stopped and his faced turned a shade redder.

            "And?" Lizz asked. Courtney gave her a look that told her not to push it. Lizz pouted a bit and, crossing her arms, leaned back on the couch. 

 "I'll tell you later," Courtney Mouthed. Lizz nodded. It seemed to cheer her up a bit.

            "So, what happened while we were gone?" Quatre asked, trying to change the subject.

            "We were attacked," Trowa answered.

            "More like Yuy attacked them," Wufei added.

            "Would you rather have let them spy on us all night?" Heero retorted. "Personally, I don't want to be killed in my own home! We don't know who they are, who they work for, or what they want with us!"

            "Neither do I, but-"

            "Ok, calm down, guys," Court told them. "So Heero gets the jump on them, then what?"

            "One of 'em got Heero. Then they drove off in a hurry," Duo answered. Quatre nodded.

            "And then they ran us off the road." Courtney shuddered as she relived the experience in her mind. Quatre squeezed her hand, and that seemed to dispel her fears in an instant, and she smiled up at him. He smiled back. Lizz quirked an eyebrow and gave Courtney a look. Catching her eye, Court blushed a little and looked away.

            "So what now?" Lizz asked. Duo yawned.

            "Bed," he said.

            "I agree," Heero said. "We can sort things out in the morning."

            "I'm planning on hitting the base first thing." Trowa nodded.

            "Good idea, Duo." As if sensing some need to be there, Lizz asked:

            "Can I go?" She caught Court's eye and Courtney understood.

            "I'd like to, too," she added. "It'd give us something extra to put in our report."

            "I dunno…" Duo hesitated.

            "Please?" Lizz pleaded. Duo sighed.

            "I suppose it'd be all right. I'll try to get something arranged."

            "Thanks, Duo," Lizz said, smiling. His expression melted into a grin.

            "Sure." He yawned again, and, stretching, got up and headed for his room.

            "G'night," he said as he ascended the stairs.

            "See you in the morning, Duo," Quatre called. Duo waved over his shoulder and walked off down the hall. Trowa and Heero soon followed, with Wufei close behind. Quatre lingered a bit to make sure Court was all right, then also headed off to bed. The girls stayed behind and talked a while.

            "I feel so guilty, Court," Lizz admitted. "We're supposed to be protecting them, and I blew it!"

            "Don't beat yourself up about it," said Courtney. "I've been goofing off too. Dating the guy you're supposed to be protecting isn't exactly doing your job. Let's face it, we're not cut out for this."

            "Yeah. Evers got the wrong girls."

            "I'm beginning to think so myself."

            "EVERS!" both of them exclaimed.

            "Yes, it's me, came the professor's voice. "You girls are doing a poor job. I've been watching you, both of you. Richards, just WHAT do you think you're doing? This is an important mission, not a joyride! And Wright! What in the world were you thinking! Yuy was nearly KILLED!"

            "Yeah, we know. Don't have to rub it in," Lizz snapped.

            "Yeah, we feel bad enough already," Courtney agreed.

            "You'll be hearing more than this is you screw this up! I am NOT going to fail because of two dim-witted WOMEN!"

            "If you're so good, why don't you come do it yourself?" Lizz yelled.

            "Shhhh!" Court urged. The boys'll suspect something!"

            "Let's just hope you don't screw up tomorrow," Evers said. Lizz shut off her com-link.

            "Shut up, you idiot," she muttered.

            "Can I go to bed now?" Court asked, yawning.

            "Yeah. Gotta get up early tomorrow," Lizz told her. "Better sleep while we can."

            Grey slammed his fist on his desk. "Blast! You people can't do anything right, can you?" McGregor winced.

            "Sorry sir, it won't happen again."

            "YOU'RE DARN RIGHT, IT WON'T!" Grey snapped.


	11. Chapter 11

ºDeceiving Fateº

CHAPTER XI:

  "Morning everyone," Trowa said.

  "Hey, Trowa! Sleep well?" Lizz asked.

  "I suppose." He paused for a moment. "Where's Quatre?" Wufei scoffed.

  "He and that baka are still sleeping." Duo shrugged.

  "They had a hard night, what can I say?"

  "And the rest of us didn't?" Heero asked. Duo frowned.

  "I didn't say that."

  "But that's what you meant," Wufei said.

  "That's unfair and untrue!"

  "QUIET!!!" Lizz screamed. Everyone immediately shut up. "That's better." Quatre shuffled into the kitchen at that point.

"What's with all the noise?" he asked drowsily.

"The boys were arguing, that's all," Lizz told him.

"Oh, okay," he said. "Well, I'm going back to bed."

"At 9 in the morning?" Trowa asked.

"It's only 9?" Quatre asked, a bit surprised. "I thought it was later than that." Duo and Trowa looked at each other, knowing something was wrong.

"You ok, Quat? This isn't like you." Quatre shrugged and yawned.

"I'm awfully tired. Looks like I won't be going to the base like I'd planned."

"All right. Court'll be AWFULLY disappointed though," Lizz said teasingly.

"Not if she doesn't get up soon," Duo said with a snicker.

"She's still sleeping too?"

"Yeah. She never was a morning person," Lizz said. Quatre laughed.

"Well, if she does get up, give her my apologies for me, will ya? I'm off to bed."

"Sure, Quatre," Lizz answered him.

"Thanks." Quatre left the kitchen and soon they heard his bedroom door shut.

"Man," Lizz said. "He MUST be tired." Heero nodded.

"Must be."

"Well, if she wants to go, you'd better go wake her up," Duo told Lizz.

"Me?"

"Well, you're her best friend…"

"That doesn't mean she appreciates me waking her up!"

  "Well, she doesn't even LIKE me," Wufei stated.

  "Gee, I wonder why…" Heero muttered, making Duo and Lizz snicker. Wufei glared back at the three of them.

  "And she doesn't really KNOW us," Trowa said. Lizz sighed.

  "Fine, I'll do it. But if anything happens, I'm kicking you butts."

  Lizz crept into the bedroom carefully. "Courtney… Courtney, wake up!" She grabbed Court's shoulder and shook her gently. "C'mon Court, wake up already!" Courtney groaned and flipped over.

  "What time is it?" she asked softly.

  "About nine o' clock." Courtney jumped out of bed, eyes wide.

  "NINE? OH MY GOSH! And I still haven't eaten or gotten dressed or ANYTHING!" Lizz was nearly run over as Courtney grabbed her clothes for the day and ran into the bathroom.

  "Well," Lizz said. "That wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be."

  "Hi guys!" Courtney said, rushing into the kitchen five minutes later, out of breath. Duo laughed.

  "That didn't take long," he said. Court grinned a little.

  "I didn't realize what time it was," she explained. Wufei rolled his thin eyes and left the room.

  "No kidding," Lizz said. Courtney didn't reply. Instead, she popped in a pop-tart and leaned against the counter.

  "So where's Quatre?" she asked. Duo and Lizz looked at each other for a moment.

  "He's, well, still sleeping," Duo told her. Court looked confused.

  "But I thought he was going with us."

  "Yeah, so did we. But he told us that he was going to sleep in."

  "Oh." Courtney was obviously disappointed, but shook it off. Her pop-tart popped out of the toaster, and she snatched it up before it landed. "Well," she said, taking a bite. "We gonna go or not?"

"This is the perfect opportunity for us sir," McGregor said. Grey thought about it a moment.

"I see where you're coming from." Grey narrowed his eyes. "You know what to do." McGregor nodded.

Duo had arranged for a guide for the girls while he attended to 'other business.' "Hi," said the young man at the door. "You must be Lizz and Courtney. I'm Tim Goebel. Nice to meet you." (a/n: I COULDN'T HELP IT! I LOVE THE OLYMPICS!!!) He shook both their hands. Duo thanked him before leaving. "No, thank you. Got me outta desk work for a while," he said with a laugh. Duo nodded.

"I know whatcha mean. Well, I better get going. See ya later, girls!" He waved as he jogged off down the hall.

"Bye Duo!" Lizz called.

"Well, shall we?"

"Attacked?" Duo nodded. The older man furrowed his brow.

"You think this has anything to do with-"

"I'm not sure. I'm really not sure." Both men walked into one of the control rooms. Several workers were monitoring various sections of the base. "We'll do all we can to decipher this puzzle. I won't be able to rest in peace until we get to the bottom of this. You can be sure of it."

"Thanks, General Whitman. We need all the help we can-" One of the alarms cut Duo short.

"Sir, intruder in Area 12!"

"What?" exclaimed Whitman. He and Duo rushed over to the young man. "Get me a visual!" The recruit searched the halls.

"I can't, sir! Cameras are out!"

"Blast! Get down there and stop him, then!"

"Yes, sir!" Half the soldiers in the room threw down their headphones and ran out the door, gun in hand. Not five seconds had passed when young Tim Goebel ran in the door, out of breath.

"Goebel! What are you-"

"What's going on?"

"Where are the GIRLS?" Duo asked. A look of surprise came over the soldier's face.

"They're- but- they were right behind me!" Horror-stricken, Duo ran out of the room immediately.

"Great, now which way did he go?"

"You lost him?" Lizz exclaimed.

"Well, excuse me! It's not my fault he disappeared!"

"He didn't disappear!"

"Then you find him!"

"Ok, I will!" Lizz looked down both of the halls, trying to figure out which way Tim had gone.

"Hey! Hey girls! Lizz! Behind you!"

"DUO!" He was running towards them down the hall from behind.

"I've been looking all over for you! What happened?"

"Courtney couldn't keep up."

"Hey, I didn't see YOU on his tail the whole time!"

"Ok, ok, cut it out. We've gotta get outta here."

"But why? What's going on, Duo?" Courtney asked.

"Someone's broken into the base. He's taken out all the cameras. We can't track him!"

"Great. One thing after another. My life is SO peaceful," Lizz said sarcastically.

"C'mon, let's-" Duo stopped as the lights went out.

"Wonderful."

"Don't worry, I've got a flashlight. Let's get lost."

"Yeah," said Court, "before we're found…."

"What was that?" Court had jumped at every sound so far.

"Courtney, if you say that one more time…"

"Sorry. Won't happen again." There was silence for another few feet, until one of the coins in Duo's pocket fell through the hole in his black pants. "What was that?" Lizz sighed, frustrated.

"If we get out of this, remind me NEVER to take her camping." Duo nodded.

"Don't worry." The light of the flashlight darted across the hall, from wall to wall, as Duo kept a look out for whoever their uninvited guest was. They kept silent for a while as they made their way through the base.

"Kinda funny how we haven't come across anybody yet," Lizz said.

"Yeah. Wonder where everybody went," Court added. "You don't think-"

"Don't even think that way," Duo said. "Let's just focus on getting out of this maze.

"K," Court said, nodding. Suddenly, Duo stopped and turned around, shining the flashlight down the hall behind him.

"What's wrong?" Lizz asked.

"I thought I heard something," he said quietly. He narrowed his eyes as he searched the hall again. "Hmmm…" Hesitating a moment, he turned around and continued down the hall. They kept going for a while in silence. Then, without warning, the flashlight went out as a yelp of surprise came from Duo, and the girls were left in complete and utter darkness.

"Duo? Duo, where are you?" Lizz cried. They heard struggling, and then Courtney screamed.

"Hey, leggo!"

"Courtney?" Lizz heard a thud, and then someone grabbed her from behind. She cried out in a mixture of surprise and terror. Lizz felt a sharp pain in her neck, and slowly, her struggling weakened, and she finally lost all consciousness.

When she awoke, Courtney was being dragged down a dimly-lit hallway. She looked up at the two young guards that were carrying her. They wore a dark blue shirt with a gray stripe across the chest, and a cap to match. Their pants were of some khaki material. On the hat, as well as over the heart, was an emblem- a dark lightning bolt that sat on one side of an embroidered ring. On the top, bottom, and right inside edge of the ring were three triangles. It looked strangely familiar to her. She just knew she'd seen it somewhere before… One of the guards looked down to find she was staring up at him.

"Hey look," he said to his partner with a smirk, "she's awake."

"She'll wish she were asleep for GOOD when Grey's done with her," said the other.

"What? Where are you taking me? Where are my friends? And who is _GREY_?" she demanded. The two just laughed.

"You'll find out soon enough, babe," said the first.

"Don't call me 'babe'!" she shouted at them. They continued to laugh and ignore her.

Duo was still asleep when Lizz woke up. The first thing on her mind was to find out who had hit her Duo and who had the nerve to knock her out with some drug. Then she noticed the two guards dragging her down the hall. They were in uniform, meaning they were in league with someone, and this wasn't just a random hostage situation. Of course, she might have been better off as a hostage. "Hey, you!"

"Oh, she's awake…" One of the guards looked down at her. "Wonderful."

"Don't you get smart with me! Now answer my question: where are you taking us, and what in the world is going on here?" Lizz wanted to know. The guards just sighed and rolled their eyes.

"Are we gonna have to put up with this the WHOLE way?" asked one of them.

"Hey, don't ignore me! I asked you a question!" Someone groaned behind her, stopping her yelling. She craned her neck to see if the young pilot was waking up. "Duo?"

"Ow…" Duo muttered. "What hit me, a truck or a school bus….?" He looked lazily around the room and his vision slowly came into focus. "The heck…? Lizz what in the heck is going on here? Leggo of me!"

Duo began to struggle, and he was soon free- but not for long. One of the soldiers took out a gun and hit Duo over the head with the hilt, knocking him out. 

"Crap…" Duo muttered before falling to the ground. The two guards that were previously holding him picked him up and began to carry him down the hall again.

"Oh, and by the way- if he ever wakes up, I'd advice him to NOT try that again," one of them said to Lizz with a cold stare. Lizz just glared at the back of his head as best she could and muttered something under her breath.

"Hey, let me out of here!" Courtney screamed in frustration, pounding on the door of her dark cell. There wasn't a single bit of light in the room, and there weren't any lamps at all. It was beginning to make her nervous, as she couldn't tell how much time had passed since she had first been placed in here. "I said LET ME OOOOOOOOUUUUUTTTTTTTT!!!!!" she screamed again, pounding the door harder. Suddenly, a panel in the door slid back, revealing two menacing eyes. Courtney jumped back with a yelp of surprise and horror, and shielded her eyes against the burst of light coming from the hall outside.

"I'd shut my big mouth if I were you, Ms. Richards."

"What have you done with my friends! How do you know my name? And what do you want with us? Let me out of here!"

"I said BE QUIET!" Courtney jumped at the sharpness in his voice. "You do want your friends to live longer, don't you?"

"What do you mean, longer?" she asked warily. The panel slid shut, the door opened, and a man in his mid-forties stepped into the room. He closed the door behind him, holding a lantern.

"Well, you're all going to die anyway, once we have no more use for you," he said. "And I mean all of you. All five Gundam pilots included. And that blonde one you love so much will be the first to go."

"NO! You can't!" she shouted in objection.

"I can, and I will," he said, smirking at her. "In fact, I plan to. See, once I send them a little message telling them we have you three-"

"NO! I won't let you!" The man laughed.

"Do you honestly think you can stop me?" he exclaimed. "Ha! Once they come to the rescue, I'll have them! And then you'll ALL die. Just like one big happy family!" He started to leave.

"Wait a minute! Come back here!" Courtney rushed for the door, but he slammed it in her face and laughed.

"By the way, even if you manage to escape your cell and avoid all the guards, you won't be able to find your friends- they're in different parts of the base. Happy hunting!" He laughed again and Courtney could hear him walk away down the hall. She slammed her fist into the closed door.

"Darn it!"

Quatre walked sat at the kitchen table with a cup of hot tea cupped between his hands. "Mmm… smells good…" he said to himself. He took a sip as Trowa walked into the kitchen.

"Morning, Quatre," he said.

"Hello, Trowa," Quatre replied, taking another sip of tea. "Is Duo not back yet?" Trowa shook his head and leaned back in his chair. 

"Shouldn't he have been back by now?" Trowa was about to answer when, suddenly, a loud THUD THUD THUD came from the direction of the stairs. "The heck is that?" Wufei came running into the kitchen and slid into Trowa's chair, causing Trowa to fall out ("HEY!") and hit the floor. The impact caused a few magnets to fall of the refrigerator door. 

"Wufei, what are you trying to do, kill me?" Trowa shouted at the young Chinese boy angrily as he stood up.

"There's- something you- need- to see," Wufei panted, leaning against the table for support while he caught his breath. His face was a little more pale than usual.

"What's this all about, Wufei?" Quatre asked, setting down his tea.

"Just COME." There was a seriousness in his voice that sent a chill down Quatre's spine. He got up and quickly followed Trowa and Wufei up the stairs and into Heero's room (A/N: See?! I TOLD you everything goes on in Heero's room!).

"Alright, we're all here, now tell us what you want," Heero said crossly.

"Ah, so the famous Gundam pilots are all assembled now, are they?" someone's sly voice said. It appeared to be coming from the computer. "But I think one is missing, isn't he?" Wufei's face went even paler.

"What do you know about Maxwell?" he asked quietly. He didn't show it much, but even though the young American frequently got on his nerves, Wufei still had a soft spot for Duo.

"Plenty," the voice said coldly. "In fact, he's paying us a visit right now. Say hello, Duo."

"I won't take orders from you!" Duo shouted in the background.

"That's Duo!" Quatre exclaimed. The sinister voice laughed.

"Yes, it's your precious Duo Maxwell. He's rather tied up at the moment, but otherwise I'm sure he'd LOVE to talk to you." (A/N: Why do evil dudes ALWAYS say that about their hostages?!)

"Wait a minute," Trowa said. "If he's got Duo then…" His voice trailed off.

"Yes, we've got them as well, you fools."

"What?!" Quatre exclaimed.

"Took 'em long enough," a new voice said.

"Shut up, both of you!" Heero shouted. "Look Grey-"

"So he remembers…" Grey sighed.

"Impressive memory, th' kid's got," said the other voice.

"Shut up, McGregor," Grey said sternly.

"Sir." Duo took this opportunity to shout:

"Guys, don't worry about us, don't tell him anything!" Suddenly, he yelped in pain.

"You want me to hit him again, sir?" McGregor asked.

"No, that's alright," Grey said. "Ms. Thompson!" he shouted. Someone opened a door on the other end of the line and walked into the room where Grey, Duo, and McGregor were.

"Sir?"

_That voice…_ Heero thought.

"Tell the good people what they've won," Grey said. He sounded like he was getting bored.

"Yes sir. Attention Gundam pilots: do not interfere. We, the Grey Organization, will not tolerate any interruptions. We will kill all hostages if anything should disrupt our project. So don't do anything stupid," she added with a smug tone. "If you value your friends' lives."

"You heard the lady! No interfering with our top-secret plan!"

"McGregor?" Grey said, sounding quite jaded.

"Sir?"

"SHUT UP!"

"Yes sir…" McGregor muttered something under his breath. Grey sighed.

"So in other words, Yuy, keep out of the war and keep your friends alive. A little longer, that is." Grey began to laugh and suddenly their connection was cut.

"Darn it, Grey!" Heero screamed, slamming his fist onto the table.

"What do we do now, Heero?" Wufei asked.

"Go after Quatre…" Trowa muttered.

"WHAT?!" Both the other two boys turned to find Quatre was gone, his spot on the bed empty.

"That IDIOT! What is he thinking?!" Heero exclaimed, pounding the table again.

"So are we going after him or not?" Trowa asked, already knowing the answer. He stood up and walked out the door as Wufei stood up to join him. Heero muttered something under his breath about "utter stupidity", grabbed his gun, and walked out of the room after them, snatching his jacket off the back of the door as he left.

"So tell us what you know," an officer said, glaring down at Duo, who was tied up in  a chair and beaten up severely. Despite his cuts and bruises, Duo managed to grin.

"What I know? Heck, I know lots of things! Want me to sing you my ABC's?" The other soldier, obviously under the other in rank, punched him hard. (A/N: Hmm… we must give this soldier a name…. I know! We shall call him "WEDGE!")

"Quit playing around and you might save yourself some unnecessary damage," the other soldier said with a smirk. (A/N: He needs a name too… BIGGS! *chanting* Wedge and Biggs, Wedge and Biggs!)

"I'm not telling you anything," Duo snarled through clenched teeth. "Except maybe that that's the UGLIEST uniform I've ever seen. Did they make that for you or did you do it yourself?" Biggs clenched his fists.

"Enough!" he shouted, punching Duo himself this time. "I've had just about enough of your wide-cracks, funny-boy. Someone get me the girl!"

"Lizz?!" Duo exclaimed. "Leave her out of this, you idiots! She didn't do ANYTHING to you!"

"Then are you willing to talk?" Biggs asked with a superior tone in his voice. Duo hesitated. His thoughts trailed off and he suddenly saw himself looking deep into Lizz's eyes. She was smiling at him, like she always did. Gosh, how he missed that smile… "I said are you willing to talk!" Biggs shouted, knocking Duo back to his senses. He nodded slowly.

"On one condition- don't hurt her," he said quietly. Biggs stared at him with contempt. Duo sighed. "Ok, ok, I know all about the illegal gundanium shipments to the colonies, but I don't know where they were headed. You guys are trying to start another war, aren't you?"

"I don't make the rules, I just follow them," Biggs said coldheartedly. He turned to Wedge. "Call Grey and tell him we have what we need."

"Sir!" Wedge picked up the phone. "Sir, we got him to talk, what do you want us to do? ….. …. I understand. Good day, sir." He hung it back up. "Grey says to take him back to his cell. Commander Kildole is to execute him and the two girls tomorrow morning."

"WHAT?!" Duo exclaimed, jerking his head up and glaring at the two soldiers. "Now wait just a minute, do what you want with me, but let the girls go! They don't know anything!" Biggs rolled his eyes.

"Do you honestly think we can just let them go? They know too much now. Take him away!" Wedge nodded and had just called for an escort when a young woman with short red hair and wire-frame glasses walked into the room.

"Ms. Thompson!" Both Wedge and Biggs stood erect as she walked in front of Duo and stared down at him. He glared up at her at first, but as he studied her face she suddenly looked so familiar…

"Is this the Gundam pilot I was told about?" she asked coolly.

"Yes ma'am," Wedge said, nodding. "He's a loud-mouth AND an idiot."

"Look who's talking, Rat Face!" Duo snapped back. Wedge clenched his fists and glared at the braided boy.

"ENOUGH!" Ms. Thompson shouted, shooting a look at the young soldier. "Untie him, please."

"Are you out of your mind?!" Biggs yelled.

"I have new orders from Grey. I will take him back to his cell. If you have a problem, why don't you go report it, SOLDIER." Biggs shook his head vigorously.

"I don't have a problem, ma'am, it's just… Are you sure you can handle him?" Ms. Thompson pulled a pistol out of her purse as Wedge began to untie him.

"Oh, I think I can handle, him," she said, looking down at Duo.

"Alright, then. Good luck, Ms. Thompson." She nodded and pushed Duo out the door ahead of her. As soon as they were out of sight, she suddenly spun Duo around and handed him the gun.

"Go get your girlfriend, Duo. She's in the 5th sector, 2nd floor. I'll go find the other girl," she said sternly. Duo grinned.

"I thought you looked familiar, Miss Renee Hendricks."

"Yeah, yeah, now get going. We can talk later," Rae said, turning and walking away in the direction she had come.

"Hey Rae?" She turned to face him by way of answer. "Thanks." She smiled.

"Meet me in the old computer lab on the 5th floor," she called, running off down the hall.

Lizz began to pace in her cell. It was dark, and there weren't any windows- she couldn't tell if it was night or day. It felt like forever since they had locked her in this dank room. She leaned against the back wall and closed her eyes. Where had they taken Duo? And where was Courtney? She just had to get out of here and find them. She stood up and walked over to the door.

"Hey!" she shouted, pounding the door. "Is anyone out there? Let me out of here!" As if on cue, the door swung inward and knocked her down. She shielded her eyes from the sudden light and squinted out into the hallway. The silhouette of a young man stood in the doorway.

"Did ya miss me?" a familiar voice asked.

"Duo!" Lizz cried in her happiness. "What are you doing here? How did you get out! And how did you find me?" Duo grinned.

"I had help from a friend," he said. "That, and I followed your pathetic screaming." Lizz hit him and crossed her arms.

"That's not funny!" she said.

"C'mon, let's get out of here." Lizz nodded and followed him out into the hall.

Courtney sat against the wall and stared at the door to her left. There had to be some way to get out of here… But she couldn't very well examine her prison- it was too dark. Maybe that was why there weren't any lights. She sighed. She was helpless to do anything to help herself, much less her friends. _I guess I'll just have to wait it out, _Court thought.

Suddenly, there was the sound of a scuffle outside. Her heart skipped a beat as she stood up. "Hey, is someone out there? Hey, in here! I'm in here!" She began to beat on the door.

"Shhh!" someone hissed through the door. "Don't want to get me caught, do you?"

"QUATRE?!" Courtney exclaimed. What was he doing here?

"Just hold on a second, I've almost- There!" The door began to swing inward, and Courtney backed up to avoid being hit. She squinted to see her rescuer through the sudden glow, and slowly her eyes began to adjust. Quatre stepped into the room wearing one of the guard's uniforms and without warning, he had wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. "I came as soon as I heard! Are you alright?" he said, looking down at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. A little shaken, I guess, but I'm fine." Court smiled at him. Then she frowned. "But how on earth did you know where to find me? I mean, _I_ don't even know where this is!" Quatre frowned.

"This isn't the first time we've dealt with these guys," he said crossly. She looked up at him, confused.

"What do you mean? I know you're a Gundam pilot and all, I mean, everyone SHOULD, but you know who did this?" Quatre nodded.

 "Well, to make a long story short, we thought we stopped them a few years back. Then there was the Marimea incident…" Courtney nodded. "But anyway, we thought they were gone for good, but apparently it's not as we thought." Quatre looked at her sorrowfully. "I'm so sorry we got you into this."

"It's ok. I kinda got myself into it," she said, grinning. Quatre gave her an odd look. "Well, um… yeah. So where are the guys? Shouldn't we go meet them somewhere?" The young pilot looked around the room and avoided her eyes. Her eyes got wide with a sudden realization. "You came ALONE?!"

"Shh! Not so loud!" he whispered. "C'mon, we have to find Lizz and Duo and get out of here. I brought you this," he said, holding up another uniform.

"Quatre! Did you steal this off some poor girl?!" Courtney exclaimed. Quatre's ears turned red.

"No!" he protested. "I found it in a locker room! You wouldn't think I'd stoop that low, do you!? C'mon, don't you trust me?" Courtney looked him over.

"Hmm… I suppose you're right. Sorry."

"That's ok. I'll be outside, you go ahead and change."

"Just don't peek!" she said, shooing him out of the room.

"Hey, I thought you trusted me!" he exclaimed, closing the door.

"Just leave that panel shut!"

"WHAT panel?" He was silent for a moment. "Oh!"

"QUATRE!"

"Heheh… Just kidding!"

"Better be," she muttered.

"What?"

"Would you be quiet?"

"Heh… Sorry."


	12. Chapter 12

_º__Deceiving __Fate__º___

CHAPTER XII:

"Where in the world could he have gotten off to? Heero, HOW COULD YOU LOOSE HIM?!" Wufei exclaimed. Heero muttered something under his breath.

"Hey, guys, not so loud. We're supposed to be Grey's soldiers, are we not?" Trowa asked, motioning to their uniforms. They had happened upon the locker room while following Quatre. However, they had lost him after that. Again Heero muttered something.

"Why do we have to wear these STUPID uniforms anyway? Navy blue is NOT my color," Wufei said, pulling at his shirt.

"Just shut up and WALK," Heero ordered, pulling his cap down over his eyes. "The sooner you quit complaining and the sooner we can find the others and get OUT of here!"

"Hey, someone's coming!" Trowa hissed. Heero pulled his cap down a little farther and continued walking down the hall. The other two followed. A young couple walked down the hall towards them. As the two walked past, Heero signaled to the others. Suddenly, all three of them had taken the two as hostages and pulled them into an unoccupied room. Trowa and Wufei sat them down in two chairs as Heero pulled out his gun. The young man went to pull off his hat.

"Ok, tell us- Quatre?" Wufei stopped short as Quatre stared up at them.

"Hello guys," he said smugly. "Not very subtle, are you?" Quatre asked, rubbing his sore shoulder.

"Then is that Courtney with you?" Trowa asked. She also took off her hat.

"The one and only," she said, grinning.

"I thought that was you guys," Quatre said, standing up and putting his hat back on. "What'd you go and grab us for?"

"We were looking for you," Heero said. A little disappointed, he put his gun away. "We've been following you for a while now."

"I know. I lost you back at the locker room, right?" Trowa, Wufei, and Heero looked at each other in embarrassment.

"Uh… yeah," Trowa said, smiling a little.

"Hn." Heero walked to the door and looked to see if the coast was clear. "Alright, let's move out and find the other two. Then we can get out of here."

"Shouldn't we try to find out what they're up to?" Courtney asked. Heero shook his head.

"This is a rescue mission only. Besides, I already have information from the INSIDE," he said. A little confused, everyone followed him out of the room and down the hall.

"Duo, someone's coming!" Lizz whispered, nodding toward the hall adjacent to theirs. (A/N: There seem to be a lot of halls, don't there? All of them lead to each other. I suppose… After all, what can you expect? It IS a top-secret base. *gasp* I've said too much!)

"How many are there?" Duo asked, loading his gun.

"About five, by the sound of it," she said quietly.

"Well, we'll just have to take 'em all out, won't we?" he said with a grin. "You said you take Tai Kwon Doe."

"Yeah, but five?" Duo nodded. 

"Either that, or they take us back to those stupid cells and shoot us full of lead in the morning." Lizz shuddered and also nodded. "Ok then, on the count of three. One, two, THREE!"

Both of them jumped out and Duo knocked one of them on the back of the head.

"What the heck?!" Two of the soldiers jumped back in fighting stance as Lizz knocked one of them over with a good kick to the chest.

"Wait a minute!" the girl cried. "Lizz! It's us!!"

"Duo, don't shoot!" the one on the floor shouted, hands in the air.

"Oh my gosh! Guys!" Duo exclaimed. "You came for us!"

"Yeah, and look at the thanks we get," Wufei snapped.

"Sorry, Quatre," Lizz said, helping him up. Quatre rubbed his back where he had fallen on the floor.

"That's ok. You're strong, you know that?" Lizz smiled.

"Yeah."

"Is Heero alright?" Trowa asked. Courtney knelt beside him and felt for a pulse. She shook her head.

"He's out cold."

"Oh man…! He's gonna KILL me when he wakes up!" Duo moaned.

"Hey! What's going on down there?!" Everyone froze. 

"Quick, in here!" Trowa motioned to one of the rooms. Quatre and Wufei picked Heero up and carried him inside after the others.

"I thought I heard yelling down this way!" The group held their breath.

"It was nothing," a female voice said. "Thank you for wasting my time, soldier."

"I know that voice," Wufei, Trowa, and Quatre said simultaneously. Duo just grinned.

"Sorry ma'am, won't happen again!" Footsteps ran off in the direction from which they had come.

"You can come out now, Duo," the woman said after a few moments. Everyone gaped as Duo opened the door and motioned for the girl to come inside.

"We need a little help," Duo said. The red-head walked into the room.

"Rae! Renee Hendricks, is it really you?!" Quatre exclaimed. She smiled.

"Hello, Quatre," she said calmly.

"But Rae, what-" Wufei interrupted Trowa with a snide comment of his own.

"I thought you were a brunette," he said with a smirk.

"Huh? Oh, this!" Rae reached up and pulled off her wig. "I am," she said matter-of-factly.

"Hey, you're that girl from last night!" Lizz said. She never forgot a face. Rae nodded. 

"Duo, where's Heero?" Suddenly, Duo began to look around the room nervously and mutter to himself.

"Uniform…thought someone else….surprise attack…..knocked out."

"WHAT?!" Rae exclaimed, leaning over the table to find Heero lying on the floor, unconscious. "Oh THAT'S just great!" She turned around, hands on her hips. "And did you ever tell him I needed to TALK to him!?"

"…No." Rae's eyes began to bug out.

"DUO MAXWELL, YOU ARE IMPOSSIBLE!!"

"Well it's not like I KNEW it was Heero! He was the victim of a freak accident!!!!"

"With you filling in the 'freak' part, right?!"

"Hey, guys, guys, chill out!" Courtney shouted, trying to be heard over the two.

"Yeah! Geez, this IS a top-secret base, right?" Lizz said. Rae sighed. 

"Right. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too," Duo said softly.

"Ok, now that we're through GROWING UP," Wufei said with a glare, "can we PLEASE get out of here so I can get out of the rotten UNIFORM?!"

"I dunno, Wufei, I think it looks good on you," Courtney said with a smirk. The boy's face began to turn red and he glared back at her.

"Wufei's right. Let's leave before we have any MORE mishaps," Trowa said. Quatre nodded.

"Rae, do you know of a way out of here?" Rae grinned. 

"I thought you'd never ask."

Rae poked her head around the corner, her wig back on. "Ok, coast is clear!" she said, motioning for the group to follow her. After about half an hour of ducking and hiding and playing "look-out", they had finally made it to the "back door" of the base.

Trowa and Duo were carrying Heero now, since he was still unconscious. "How much further?" Duo grunted. "He's getting heavy!"

"Yeah," Trowa said. "Who knew "Miss" Heero's slender figure could weigh so much!" Even Wufei had to laugh at this.

"We're here," Rae said with a grin. Everyone looked up to see they were in a large hangar. Inside were several mobile suits and a few vehicles or two.

"Whoa…" Courtney and Lizz both said in awe. They had looked forward to seeing a few mobile suits up close since they had arrived in this other world, but this far surpassed any of their expectations.

"Not as cool as Deathscythe," Duo muttered under his breath.

"Not as cool as LUNAR," Rae said, sticking out her tongue at Duo.

"Hey, my buddy could kick its butt in a second flat!" Duo half-screamed.

"You're just jealous," Rae said with a smirk.

"I am not!" Duo said, dropping the half of Heero he was holding up, causing Trowa to drop his feet. THUD. Everyone gasped. Heero's fingers began to twitch. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room, his eyes half-open.

"No, I don't WANT to go to school today… Just five more minutes…" he said, falling back to sleep. Rae snickered.

"I think that last whack may have knocked his brain for a loop," she said.

"No, he's always been like that," Courtney said sarcastically. Rae laughed.

"I would know." She led them past the mobile suits to a big gray van that had already been started. "This is your get-away car," Rae said. "Sorry I couldn't get you a convertible," she added.

"That's okay, we wouldn't fit anyway," Duo said with a shrug.

"Take the next shuttle back to Earth. I'd go with you, but I have some business to take care of," she said, glancing at the door that led back into the base.

"Hey Rae?"

"Yeah, Quatre?" He gave her a hug while Duo and the others loaded up.

"Thanks." She hugged him back.

"Take care," she said. "Now get GOING." She pushed him into the open door of the van and closed it.

"C-ya later, R- er, Ms. Thompson!" Duo said, waving out the window of the van.

"Bye Duo. I'll meet you later." Rae walked over to a control panel on one side of the hangar and opened one of the doors. Duo saluted her before driving out the door. "Good luck…" she whispered.


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER XIII:

_'It's so peaceful here. No pain, no war, no one to bother me, no one to nag about the housework… I want to stay here forever. It's so perfect…' _A sharp twinge on the back of his head woke Heero from his daydreams. He yelped in a mixture of pain and surprise. He sat up in his bed. Where was he? What had happened? He began to panic, but suddenly realized he was- "In my own room?"

Heero knew he had been at the base on a rescue mission a minute ago… But maybe it wasn't a minute ago. How long had he been out? And who had knocked him out in the first place? He was going to hurt whoever it was SEVERELY.

"Heero, is everything alright?" Courtney, Quatre, and Duo rushed into the room. He felt the back of his head and realized there was a large knot on it.

"What happened?" he asked drowsily.

"You were knocked out back at the base," Quatre said. 

"You've been out for about four hours," said Courtney. She smiled and sat down next to his bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I was hit by a bus." Duo smiled and left the room hurriedly. Heero gave him an odd look.

"It's a long story," Quatre said warily. He followed Duo out of the room.

"So lemme see."

"Excuse me?" Heero asked, turning to face the young woman.

"Let me see your head. I need to look at it if I'm to tell how you're doing." Heero glared at her.

"Here's my head, right here. See it? Good. Now leave." Courtney glared back at him and grabbed his head. "Hey!"

"Just hold still." Heero winced as she gingerly ran her fingers over his injury. "Hmm… It's worse than I thought…" she said to herself. Courtney stood up and left the room. A few minutes later, she came back in with an icepack.

"Here. It'll help the swelling go down." Heero muttered something and snatched the bag from her. "Keep it on the ice. You should feel better soon." Heero continued to mutter to himself and glared at her, placing the icepack on his head. He took a sharp breath upon contact, then relaxed as the cold numbed the pain.

"There. See? I told you. That wasn't so hard, was it?" Courtney smiled kindly at him and left the room. "I hope you feel better, Heero," she called.

The doorbell rang as Courtney walked down the stairs. Everyone was in the room discussing the last 24 hours. Trowa was about to get up when Courtney yelled: "I've got it! I'm already up anyway!" Trowa sat back down as Courtney reached the door.

"Oh, hi Rae! Come on in!" Rae walked into the house in normal clothes, and without her wig.

"Rae! You're here! I'll go tell Heero!" Duo stood up and rushed upstairs. Rae smiled.

"So he's awake, now? That's good. I've been worried all day." Wufei smirked.

"Yeah, Maxwell hit him pretty hard."

"So it was Duo, then." Everyone turned around to find Heero standing at the top of the stairs, glaring back down the hall at Duo. Duo stopped about five feet from Heero.

"….What?" Duo asked warily.

"I. Am. Going to SKIN YOU ALIVE!!" Heero yelled, at first advancing on Duo but he stopped as his yelling made his bruise pulse. He winced and muttered something as he grabbed the rail for support.

"Heero! What are you doing out of bed?! You should be resting!" Rae yelled at him. "I can't believe your stupidity sometimes, Heero Yuy!"

"Oh… Rae… I- I didn't know you were… here…" He watched as she jumped from her seat and rushed up the stairs.

"Yes, I'm here, and while I'm here I'm going to make sure you take care of yourself! Now GET!" Rae steered Heero back down the hall past an arrogant-looking Duo and into his room.

"Please, don't yell, it hurts my head…" They heard the door slam. Duo slowly walked down the stairs and into the living room. He leaned against the back of the couch with a grin on his face.

"Well, that sure fixed him!" he said happily.

"DUO!!" everyone yelled. Wufei chucked his coaster at Duo, hitting him between the eyes.

"Ow! Hey, what'd ya do that for?" Duo whined, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"If you hadn't hit him he wouldn't be in this position in the FIRST place!" Trowa yelled, exasperated.

"How was I supposed to know?!" Duo yelled back.

"Well, in his defense, we really DIDN'T know it was you guys…" Lizz said quietly.

"Hmm… I suppose you're right," Trowa said, closing his eyes.

"Yeah, see, I'm right and YOU'RE wrong!" Duo said in a singsong voice. He stuck his tongue out at Wufei.

"Maxwell!" Wufei's right eye began to twitch. "You are STARTING to TICK ME OFF."

"Hey, enough already!" Quatre exclaimed. "You're acting like children!" In response, Duo began to suck his thumb and looked at Quatre with an innocent look on his face. "Duo…"

"Alright, alright. Geez, I'm sorry, ok?" He jumped over the back of the couch and sat down next to Lizz.

"That's better," Quatre said, smiling. While Quat wasn't looking, Duo made a face at Wufei. The Chinese boy began to fume. He closed his eyes and repeated to himself over and over in his mind '_I will not hurt him, I will control my anger. I will not hurt him, I will control my anger.  I will not hurt him_…'

"Whassa matter, Wufei?" Wufei began to repeat the words a little faster. His vein began to pulse.

"Hey, are you ok? Your face is all red," Courtney pointed out.

"I think he's still mad about the whole volleyball thing," Duo said with a grin. Wufei's face turned beat red and his eyes started to bug out.

"Whoa, chill, Wu-man, I was just kidding! Don't pop a vessel or anything!" Trowa's eyes got huge as Wufei's rage kept building.

"Hit the dirt!" he screamed. Trowa jumped over the back of the chair and hid, while all but Duo followed suit.

"You know, 'Fei, that's not very healthy. You should let some of that out. If you ever need to talk, we're here for ya, man." Duo said, starting to back up a little. Wufei finally blew his top. He screamed something indecipherable at the top of his lungs and pounced on Duo. Duo began to yell as Wufei began to beat him up. Rae rushed out of the room upstairs.

"The heck is- WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON?!" she shrieked.

"RAE! QUICK! GET HIM OFF!!! HE'S PULLING MY HAIR OUT!!!" Duo cried. Rae rushed down the stairs while Heero appeared over the railing. Watching the scene, he began to flat-out roll on the floor LAUGHING.

"MY _GOSH!_ THAT IS THE _FUNNIEST _THING I'VE EVER SEEN!!!!!!!" he yelled in-between fits of laughter.

"Heero, it's not funny! Get back to your room!" Rae shouted, trying to pry the enraged Chinaman off of her best friend.

"I CAN'T!!" Heero shouted back.

"I think Heero's lost his mind…" Quatre whispered to the two girls. They only nodded in reply.

"Owowowowowowowowowowowow….." Duo muttered as Rae cleaned his cuts.

"Well, you of all people should know better!" Rae stopped and sighed. "What am I saying, I'm talking to DUO MAXWELL… Lizz, hand me that box of band-aids, will you?"

"Sure." Lizz did as she was told. (A/N: Lizz?! Doing what she's TOLD?! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!)

"Thanks."

"Darn it Wufei, I'm just trying to help!"

"Yeah, well if I wanted your help I'd have asked for it!"

"Fine!" They heard a dull thud come from the bathroom.

"OW!" Courtney stormed down and into the girls' room, slamming the door behind her. Lizz and Rae both sighed.

"That Wufei…" Rae muttered.

"Yeah. Can't live with him, can't live- oh, wait, actually, you COULD live without him!" Even Duo laughed.

"Are you guys done yet?" he asked finally.

"Almost…" Lizz kissed his bruised cheek and handed him an icepack. "Yep, we're done!" She walked out of the kitchen.

"Your new girlfriend's quite the lady," Rae said, raising an eyebrow in Duo's direction.

"Yeah…" he said dreamily. Then he snapped back into reality. "Uh, I mean-" Rae laughed.

"It's ok, Duo," she said, leaving Duo in a flustered state. " I know."

Duo walked out of the kitchen to find Trowa sitting on the couch with an orange cat in his lap. "Pumpkin!" The cat meowed in reply and snuggled closer to Trowa. Duo laughed. "Same old Pumpkin." He leaned against the back of the couch. "So where's Wufei?" he asked.

"Tending his wounds by himself," Courtney snapped. Duo gave her an odd look.

"He refused her help and ran her out of the bathroom," Quatre explained.

"More like she hit him and left," Lizz said with a smirk.

"Well he deserved it!" Courtney said.

"Hey guys, where's the remote?" Trowa asked, picking up a few magazines on the table and looking for it.

"I dunno," Court said. She, too, began looking for it.

"Hey, maybe it's under one of the cushions," Rae suggested.

"Yeah. Everybody, REMOTE PATROL!" Duo yelled.

"First dibs on the cookies for the one that finds it!" Quatre chanted. Everyone was on their feet and overturning all the cushions in the house. Trowa saw something that looked out of place and pulled it out.

"OH MY GOSH! Guys, guys, look what I found!!!" Wondering what on EARTH Trowa could have found that would get him so excited, everyone except Rae turned to face him. (A/n: Mwa ha ha ha! Be afraid, be VERY afraid!!)

"What is it, Trowa?" Lizz asked.

"Is it the remote?" asked Duo.

"LOOK WHAT I FOUND IN THE COUCH!!" he exclaimed, holding up a small figure of-

"RAE?!" everyone shouted in disbelief. Rae looked up.

"What? AH!" She jumped back in horror and dropped the cushion she was holding. "THE HECK IS THAT?!"

"It appears to be you," Trowa said.

"That's not ME!"

"Well, it sure LOOKS like you…" Duo said, taking it in his hands to examine it.

"It does NOT!"

"But it's got your hair…" Quatre said.

"And your eyes…" Courtney said.

"And isn't that the same outfit you were wearing the other night?" Lizz asked.

"NO!" Rae lied.

"Yes it is."

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Actually, Rae, it is," Duo said. Rae shook her head.

"No it's not. Those shorts are light blue. I was wearing dark STONEWASH shorts."

"Rae…"

"OK, OK, IT'S ME!!" she screamed, snatching the plushie from Duo.

"WHERE IS IT?!" Heero shrieked from upstairs. "WHERE IS IT?!?!?!?!" Everyone downstairs stared up at the ceiling in confusion. "I KNOW IT'S HERE SOMEWHERE!!!!"

"Wonder what he's looking for…" Duo said quietly.

"We'll probably never know," Quatre said.

"WHERE IIIIIIIIIS IIIITTTTT?!" Heero ran across the hall into Trowa's room.

"Hey, that's MY room!!!!" Trowa exclaimed.

"Heero, what are you looking for?" Courtney called to him. He slowly emerged from the hallway and looked over the balcony.

"Uh…" Heero hesitated. "Have you seen a, erm, uh, small, er, stuffed animal?"

"….Why?" Quatre asked.

"I, erm, can't, uh… sleep without it…"

"Sorry, Heero, can't hear you!" Rae called. "You'll have to talk louder!" Heero went into a muttering fit.

"Aw, does little Heewo sleep with a teddy bear?" Duo said in a high-pitched super-sweet voice.

"NO! I sleep with a- …..stuffed animal…" Heero spotted the Rae plushie in its human counterpart's hands. "MY PLUSHIE!! Uh- I mean- THAT'S NOT MINE. It's TROWA'S." Trowa's eyes began to bug out.

"It is NOT! I just FOUND it!"

"That's what they all say!' Heero said.

"Aww, Trowa, you keep a plushie of me? That's so sweet!" Rae said, batting her eyes at him.

"NO HE DOESN'T! I DO! IT'S MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!!!!" Heero exclaimed, a wave of jealousy swept over him.

"A HA!" Rae said, pointing up at Heero. He froze.

"NO IT'S NOT!" he yelled suddenly.

"Heero, EXPLAIN!" Rae screamed at him, holding up the plushie. Heero stood there for a moment, eyeing the plushie. Suddenly he jumped over the balcony, landed on the couch, snatched it from Rae's hands and ran upstairs. She gasped. "HEERO, GET BACK HERE!"

"NOO! IT'S MINE! WHAT I DO IN MY SPARE TIME SHOULD BE NO CONCERN OF YOURS!!!" he cried from inside his room.

"IT IS WHEN IT CONCERNS A PLUSHIE THAT LOOKS JUST LIKE ME!!!" Rae yelled. She pounded on Heero's door and shook the handle violently. "HEERO YUY, OPEN THIS DOOR!"

"NO!"

"HEERO, OPEN THE DOOR!"

"IT'S MINE!" Rae sighed. 

"I don't want to TAKE IT FROM YOU, you idiot! I just want an explanation."

"Promise you won't hurt me…?" Rae sighed again.

"Heero, why would I want to hurt you?" Rae asked. "I promise."

"Ok…" Heero opened the door slightly and Rae had to shove it open so she could get in. Everyone heard somebody gasp(sounded like Rae) all the way in the living room. It was soon followed with sounds of screaming and threats and many, MANY heavy impacts. Pumpkin hissed and ran between Trowa's legs, sitting at his feet.

"I know," he said to the cat.

"Hey Duo, would you go see if Heero's feeling ok?" Rae asked all of a sudden. Duo sweat-dropped. 

"What? Who, me?!" Rae nodded. "But- do you think that's SAFE?" Rae shrugged.

"You were the one who knocked him out, not me. Besides, he'd be scared if I went  up there."

"That's SO unfair!" Duo stood up and muttered something as he walked up the stairs. He knocked quietly on Heero's door. "Heero…." He whispered. "Are you feeling ok? ….No answer. Oh well!"

"DUO!" Duo groaned and knocked on Heero's door.

"Yeah, what do you want?" Duo opened the door and stepped inside.

"Um, hi, Heero!" Duo said nervously. Heero glared back at him. Duo cleared his throat. "Yes, well, um, Raejustsentmetocheckonyou  (toseeifyouwerefeelingok) andyouappeartobeso_I'll_justleavenow and OH LOOK, THERE'S RAE!" Duo ran out of the room as Rae walked into it. She looked back at Heero with an awkward look. Heero shrugged in response to her unasked question. Rae closed the door.

"Hi," she said softly. He nodded in response and laid down. Rae sat down next to his bed.

"Feeling ok?"

"Better than I have been, if you can call that ok…" Heero glanced at her.

"Heh… sorry about earlier. Guess I got carried away." Heero stared at the ceiling. "Um… is your head ok?"

"I suppose. Considering you hit it with a encyclopedia…"

"Perv." Rae said dismally. Heero snickered. "Now that I think about it, I had a very good reason."

"Yeah, okay," Heero smiled and closed his eyes. "What ever you say, Rae."

"Hm…" Rae sat there for a moment, as if searching for the words inside her head. "Heero," she said finally, "I guess I came in here to talk to you. I- I have reason to believe that Grey is trying to rebuild the Aptimal." At this, Heero burst out laughing.

"You can't be serious! After you blew up the only power source strong enough to power the thing?! Ha!" Rae didn't find it at all amusing. "…You're not joking."

"Heero, I thought I destroyed it!" she said, standing up. "I thought I had ended this whole thing… McGregor's still alive, and-" Rae paused for a moment. Heero stood up and put his hand on her shoulder.

"And what?"

"And… I think my father is in on it."

"What?" Rae nodded.

"All this time he was helping them… I thought he was on my side. Our side."

"So did I, Rae. I've even been in contact with him lately." Heero was about to put his arms around her waist, when she pulled away from him.

"But this whole time, he was right under my nose and I just-" Rae sighed. "I should have known all along."

"We both should have," Heero said softly. "You just didn't know. Don't be so hard on yourself."

"But-"

"Stop it, Rae." Rae turned her head to look at him. She looked deep into his eyes and smiled.

"Thanks, Heero." He smiled, nodded, then went back to being his old melancholy self.

"So they might be rebuilding the Aptimal?"

"Yeah. Something about McGregor finding the power source. I dunno, I have to go back tomorrow and-"

"What do you mean, you're going back?" Rae smiled knowingly.

"I've been working under Grey as his 'secretary'."

"What?! Do you realize how dangerous that is?! I can't let you go." She frowned at him.

"It'd be just as dangerous if you were in my shoes!"

"But that's different!"

"Heero, I'm the only one that can! If one of you tried, he'd find out and then he'd have you right where he wants you! Besides, I'm already in on it! I can't back out now, millions of lives are at stake!" Rae walked towards the door. "I'm going, and that's final!" She walked out, slammed the door behind her, and ran down the stairs. Heero rushed out after her.

"Trowa, take care of Pumpkin for me!" she said, grabbing her jacket.

"But where are you going?" he asked.

"Yeah, ya just got here," Duo said.

"I have to go, I've got some work to do."

"Rae, wait!" Heero exclaimed. She looked back at him defiantly.

"Good_bye,_ Heero," Rae said, rushing out the front door.

"What was THAT all about?" Lizz asked.

"None of your business," Heero muttered.

"Heero!" Quatre exclaimed.

"Is there something you're not telling us, Yuy?" Wufei said, appearing behind him.

"Maybe," he said arrogantly.

"Well MAYBE you should tell us," Duo said angrily. "Because you're starting to tick me off!"

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't," he said. "In any case, not right now."

"Why not?" Trowa asked.

"Is it because of us?" Court asked. Trowa rolled his eyes.

"Heero, they're already in on it, we can't hide it from them forever. Stop being so childish!" Heero glared at Trowa, then looked both girls in the eyes.

"Fine," he said finally. "But we have to get out of here, first. Grey'll come looking for us soon." He started up the stairs. "Pack a few things, but nothing unnecessary."

"But Heero, where will we go?" Heero thought for a moment.

"How long did you say I've been out?"

"About four hours," Lizz said. Heero grimaced.

"Ugh… well, it's cutting it a bit close, but I think we can make it…" Everyone watched him in confusion. "Yeah, we can make it. Ok, load up and move out!" Not wanting to delay any longer, everyone rushed upstairs for a few essentials, then went to meet back in the living room.

"Where do you think he's going to take us?" Courtney asked. 

"Away from here," Lizz said.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Quatre said, shrugging. "Court, you feelin' ok?" Her face was pale and her eyes seemed empty.

"Yeah. Just a bit nervous, I guess."

"Yeah, me too," Lizz said.

"Never fear, your Duo is here!" Duo said, hugging her from behind. Lizz laughed.

"Again with the corny jokes, Duo?" He shrugged.

"It's what I do." Seconds later, Trowa walked down the stairs with a small bag over his shoulder. Wufei followed.

"I'm ready to go," he said. Suddenly, Trowa's bag meowed. Wufei froze. "Tell me you are NOT taking the cat. PLEASE tell me you're not taking the cat."

"Fine, I won't tell you!" Trowa said indignantly, crossing his arms. Pumpkin poked her head out of the bag and meowed.

"Aw, poor kitty… she doesn't seem to like being stuffed in that bag, Trowa," Courtney said, reaching up to pet her.

"I know, but if Heero finds out then-"

"Are you all ready?" Heero asked, starting down the stairs with a small bag. Trowa freaked and began to push Pumpkin back in the bag. The cat meowed in protest.

"Shh! Just stay down and don't meow!" Trowa hissed. "And YOU," he said, turning to Wufei. "Oh word and I'll cancel your subscription to that gardening magazine you love so much." Wufei's eyes bugged out.

"You wouldn't!"

"I would." Wufei whined.

"Alright, alright…"

"Well, are we ready to go?" Heero asked again, scowling in his impatience. Duo saluted him.

"Sir yes sir!"

"Shut up, Duo," Heero said. "I'm not in the mood."

"Well EXCUSE me," he exclaimed. "I'M not the one that got into a major fight with the only girl who's ever really meant anything to ya." Heero was stunned.

"Well, I-" he stuttered. Heero hesitated for a moment. "It wasn't a fight! It was…. An argument! And she left because she had to!" Everyone stared at him. Feeling quite awkward, Heero tried to change the subject. "So are we leaving anytime soon or are we just going to stand around?!" he exclaimed, marching out the door. 

The group just stood there, staring after him in a daze. They hadn't ever seen Heero act like this before. He popped his head back in the door, face flushed. "Are we LEAVING or not? C'mon, MOVE people!" Giving each other confused looks, the whole group shuffled out the front door. Quatre made sure to lock it in case they weren't back for a while.

"So where are we going. Heero?" Trowa asked. Everyone else was asleep in the back seats. "And what's this all about? What did Rae tell you?" Not taking his eyes off the road, Heero answered him nonchalantly.

"She said they might be rebuilding the Aptimal."

"WHAT?!" Realizing how loud he was, Trowa took the conversation down to a whisper as to not wake the others. "That's impossible! Rae blew up the power source!" Heero shook his head.

"Apparently not," he replied. "McGregor found it, and they're rebuilding that stupid machine. Along with another army of bigger and better mobile suits."

"So they're going back to their original plan?" Heero nodded.

"It looks that way." Trowa was silent for a while longer. He stared out the window and looked up at the stars. Finally he spoke.

"How are we going to stop them this time? We don't have our Gundams now." Heero sighed.

"That's what I'm working on," he said quietly. Behind them, Wufei yawned and shifted his position. "We've got a rough path ahead of us, Trowa." The other boy nodded.

"It's going to be hard, but we've had worse." Heero closed his eyes for a moment.

"I don't know about that…"

Duo yawned and sat up in his seat. It was a new day now, and Heero was still driving as if he didn't need any sleep. How long had he been driving? Duo rolled his head on his neck and looked out the window. They seemed to be in the countryside somewhere… It almost had a seaside look to it, though.

"Hey Heero, where are we?" Trowa was sleeping with his head against the window, while Heero continued driving down the abandoned road. He didn't answer. "Heero?"

"We're almost there, so don't worry about it," he said finally. Duo sighed.

"Fine." Suddenly his stomach growled. "Uh, Heero?" Heero didn't respond. "When's breakfast?"

"Whenever we get there," he said plainly.

"And how long will that be?"

"Long enough," Heero answered, glaring at Duo in his rearview mirror. Duo sighed and stared out the window. Wufei, Quatre, Trowa, and the girls were still sleeping. There was silence in the car for a while.

"…Are we there yet?" Duo asked suddenly.

"Does it LOOK like we're there yet?" Heero snapped.

"…..No." Duo shut up and went back to watching the scenery pass by. Trowa muttered something in his sleep about "flying donkeys" and shifted in his seat. "…..Are we there yet?"

"NO."

"……..Are we there yet?"

"DUO!!!!"

"What?! I'm hungry!!"

"Well you should have eaten something before we left the house!"

"But I DID eat something before we left the house!" Duo protested.

"Well maybe you should have eaten MORE!" Duo was silent for a moment.

"But then I'd get fat…"

"DUO!!!" Heero screamed in frustration. "WHY DON'T YOU GO BACK TO SLEEP OR SOMETHING?!"

"Shhh!" Duo hissed. "You'll wake the girls!" Heero stared out the windshield, eyes wide in his aggravation. To keep himself from stopping the car and strangling Duo, he focused on the road ahead and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. Heero tried to shut out the little voices inside his head telling him to kill Duo now and end his misery.

"………Hey Heero?"

"WHAT?" Heero barked. 

"….Are we there yet?" And that was the straw that broke the camel's back. Heero swerved to the side of the road and turned around in his seat, eyes bugged out and twitching in his rage.

"DUO MAXWELL IF YOU DO NOT SHUT UP RIGHT THIS _INSTANT_ I WILL DRAG YOU _OUT_ OF THIS CAR, _INTO_ THE FIELD AND _SHOOT YOU!_ AND _THEN_ I'LL DROP YOUR COLD, _LIFELESS_ BODY INTO THE RIVER SO NO ONE WILL _EVER_ FIND IT, _DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME_?!?!?!?!" Duo, eyes wide, nodded enthusiastically and scooted back as far away from Heero as he could get. "GOOD!" Heero was breathing heavily when he pulled back onto the road. Both Quatre and Trowa yawned and sat up.

"What's all the screaming about?" Quatre asked sleepily.  Duo shook his head quickly.

"You don't wanna know," he said, still in shock. Trowa yawned again and looked out the window.

"Hey, Heero," he said, "are we there yet?"

Duo was now driving since Heero OBVIOUSLY couldn't handle it. He was in the cargo area where he could lay down and sleep (and hopefully calm down as well.). This left more room in the back seat where Duo once was, and the girls had fallen over on themselves- and were still sleeping. Quatre was wide-awake now (seeing as Heero had been screaming and threatening Trowa for the last fifteen minutes) and was watching the scenery change, while Wufei was still sound asleep, leaning against his side of the car. Heero was muttering senselessly under his breath in the very back. He was still shaking from his rage and lack of sleep.

"Hey Trowa, you ok?" Duo asked after a few more miles.

"I'm alright. I just wish Heero wouldn't scream like that," Trowa said quietly. "For a minute there I actually thought he was going to shoot me! What did you do to him?" Duo laughed a little nervously.

"Well, I told him I was getting hungry, and he said we'd eat as soon as we got there… so…"

"You bugged him," Quatre finished for him.

"Uh, yeah… Heheh… heh…" Duo swallowed and concentrated on the road ahead. Heero kept muttering in the back. Occasionally you could decipher a word or two. Like "destroy" and "incompetence". Duo chose to ignore his peer's muttering and continued driving.

"So where are we headed?" Quatre asked finally.

"I dunno. Heero's notes just say to follow this road for about 20 miles, then take a right and follow the road there. I guess it dead-ends at wherever we're headed." Trowa sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"I hope you know what you're doing," he said.

"Hey, I know EXACTLY what I'm doing!" Duo exclaimed.

"I've heard that before," Quatre said, turning and watching out the window again.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Duo asked, turning around in his seat.

"Just watch the road, Maxwell," Wufei said suddenly.

"Oh, morning Wufei," Quatre said pleasantly.

"When do we stop for coffee?" he asked, ignoring Quatre's greeting.

"We don't," Duo said with a sigh.

"WHAT?! No coffee?! INJUSTICE!!"

"Yeah, I know…" Duo said, rubbing his rumbling stomach. "I'M SO HUNGRY!"

"WE'LL EAT WHEN WE GET THERE!!!" Heero screeched from the back. Everyone fell silent.

"…What did you DO?" Wufei asked, stunned at Heero's disposition. "I haven't seen him THIS angry for a LONG time!"

"It's none of your business!" Duo said quickly.

"Uh huh, well…" Wufei's voice trailed off. "So we'll have coffee whenever we arrive to wherever we're going…" Trowa nodded.

"That's about the size of it." Wufei closed his eyes and leaned back against the seat. "Are we-"

"DON'T SAY IT!" the other three boys screamed in unison.

"Say…. What?" Wufei asked in confusion. Quatre pointed to the back of the car.

"Just DON'T. TRUST us." Wufei gave all three of them odd looks and sighed.

"…When are we going to be there?" he asked after a few more silent minutes. Trowa, Duo, and Quatre all gasped. In the back, Heero began to laugh hysterically, yelling some indecipherable nonsense in-between fits of laughter. Duo sighed.

"I warned you," he said.

"I think Heero's finally lost it," Quatre said, peering over the back of the seat at his friend.

"I don't think he ever HAD it," Trowa said, sounding bored. He crossed his arms and stared out the window. In the middle seat, Courtney yawned and sat up.

"What's with all the noise?" she asked drowsily. When she finally came to her senses, she looked around the car for the source of the chaotic laughing. "Is that…. HEERO?" Quatre nodded solemnly.

"I think we finally drove him mad…"

"WHAT did you guys DO?" Duo sighed.

"It's a long story…" Suddenly, one of the bags in the floorboard of the car meowed. Trowa went stiff. Heero's laughing stopped. It meowed again.

"What in the HECK is that?" Heero asked, sitting up in the back of the car and peering over the backseat.

"I dunno," Trowa said. "Maybe one of the tires has a leak."

"Or maybe someone has a leak in their brain," Heero retorted. He climbed over the backseat as the bag meowed again. He picked it up and turned it upside down. Along with some of Trowa's personal things (much to the dismay of Trowa), Pumpkin the cat came tumbling out. She landed in Heero's lap, claws unleashed, and was hissing and spitting. Heero yelped in pain as she dug her claws into his leg and stared up at him in contempt. Tail bristled, she jumped out of Heero's lap and scrambled to the front of the car to find refuge in Trowa's lap. Rubbing his scratched legs, Heero muttered an unidentifiable curse at the cat and glared at Trowa.

"How could you bring the CAT with you?" he said with a glare. "We don't have time to mess around with a stupid animal."

"Heero!" Courtney exclaimed in shock.

"Pumpkin's not stupid," Trowa shot back, "she's a smart little kitty…" Trowa stroked her soft, orange fur. "Besides, I couldn't just leave her there. Rae told me to look after her, and I plan to!" Heero scoffed.

"As long as she doesn't hold us up," he said quietly. Duo looked Heero in the eyes through the rearview mirror.

"If it were any other cat, you wouldn't be as kind, Heero. Why the big change?" he asked with a grin. Heero just glared his patented Death Glare at Duo through the mirror. Duo shrugged and went back to concentrating on driving.

"Well, even if she were any other cat, I wouldn't let you hurt her," Trowa said defiantly.

"Who said I wanted to hurt it? I just want to be rid of it."

"Liar," Trowa muttered.

"It's only because she's Rae's," Wufei said, smirking at Heero.

"Shut up, Wufei, or I might have to kill you."

"I've heard that before."

"Guys, please don't fight! We still have a long way to go, and I don't feel like putting up with it any longer!" Quatre exclaimed. Everyone looked at him, stunned. "What??" he asked finally. Heero looked out ahead through the windshield.

"I don't think you'll have to put up with us much longer," he said, nodding out the window. 

"What?" Courtney asked. The six of them looked out the window to see what Heero was talking about. "Oh, wow!"

Ahead of them, slowly rising up over the hill was a large stone lighthouse. It was a pale cream color, and as it slowly revealed itself the sun's rays caught the beacon and made it sparkle. A few seagulls circled above it. 

The lighthouse itself was on a seaside cliff that overlooked a rocky beach. The ocean's waves hit the cliff and the beach, causing large splashes and lots of white foam.

"Wow, Heero! I didn't know you were taking us to the beach!" Duo joked.

"If you feel like swimming, go ahead. But I should warn you, you might hurt yourself on the jagged rocks of the cliff if you should get swept off your feet," Heero said smugly.

"Hey, hey, I was just kidding," Duo replied. "Geez, lighten up, will ya?" Heero just scoffed. Next to Courtney, Lizz yawned and sat up.

"Hey, are we there yet?"

"YES!" Heero screamed. Lizz looked at him with a shocked expression on her face.

"What's with you? Not have your coffee yet? Or did you leave your Rae plushie at home?" she snapped at him. Heero didn't respond.

"He's had a tough day," Quatre explained.

"That, and a MAJOR lack of sleep," Court said.

"Well, I guess we're here," Duo said, pulling up next to the lighthouse.

"Oh cool, a lighthouse? Awesome!" Lizz exclaimed. "Maybe Heero has some brains after all!" Duo and Wufei snickered. 

"Lizz, that was mean," Courtney told her.

"Ok ok, I'm sorry, Heero," Lizz said. "Even if I was telling the truth," she added under her breath.

"So are we going to get out or not?" Heero asked impatiently.

"Yeah, I need to stretch," Quatre said, stretching out his arms as best he could. "I've been in this car way too long." Courtney nodded.

"Yeah. C'mon, let's go explore!" She hopped out of the car and walked to the edge of the cliff to watch the ocean foam below. "Cool!"

"Just don't fall off!" Quatre called.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want that, now would we?" Heero muttered.

"I'd be careful, Court, you might have an accident," Duo said slyly from behind.

"What do you- ah!" Duo gave her a push but caught her before she fell off. He started laughing. She glared at him. "That wasn't funny!"

"You should have seen the look on your face!" Court put her hands on her hips.

"That was a sick joke, Duo Maxwell!" She stomped off to go find her bags. He ran after her.

"Aw, c'mon Court, I'm sorry! It was just a joke! C'mon, please?" She continued to ignore his pleading. "I was just playin' with ya, that's all! Ok, it was a stupid joke, alright? I won't do it again! Honest!" Courtney grabbed her bag out of the back where the others were unloading.

"It's one thing to play a joke on someone, Duo," she said, "but it's another to flat-out hurt them." She strode off toward the lighthouse. Duo stared after her.

"Aw man…." He sighed. "Good going, Duo, now look what you've done," he said to himself. "Well, at least you're not mad at me, Lizz." Lizz stopped looking for her bag and looked up at him.

"Why would I be mad at you?" she asked.

"Never mind," he said. "Oh, hey, isn't that your bag?"

Everyone was gathered in the main room of the lighthouse. "Wow, this place is huge," Lizz said in awe.

"Yeah," Duo agreed. "Where's my room?"

"You don't have one," Heero said plainly.

"Well, ok, then who am I sharing it with?"

"Well, seeing as there's only one room… all of us."

"What?!" Duo exclaimed. "It's one thing to share the room with one of you guys, but the girls too?!"

"That's absurd!" Wufei exclaimed.  "I refuse to sleep in the same room with THOSE two," he said, pointing in the girls' direction.

"And I don't wanna sleep in the same room as Duo," Courtney said, crossing her arms and scowling at the young man.

"Hey, I said I was sorry, ok?" Courtney turned and walked up the stairs.

"Whatever."

"Hey Court," Lizz called after her. "What's going on? Wait for me!" She ran up the stairs after her friend. "Hey, wait up!!" Duo sighed.

"Great, JUST great…"

"What'd you do?" Quatre asked.

"Oh, I just played a stupid trick on her and now she's mad at me." Wufei snorted.

"Maybe she just can't handle it," he said in contempt.

"Hey, lighten up, guys," Quatre said. "Maybe I should go check on them…"

"They'll be fine," Trowa said. Pumpkin was purring in his arms. 

"So how'd you know about this place, Heero?" Duo asked. Heero smiled and walked into the center of the room.

"That's what I want to show you." He stooped down and blew a little dust away from the floor, revealing a crack. It was shaped like-

"A trap door!" Quatre exclaimed. Heero nodded. "Are we going down there?" Again Heero nodded.

"Well then let's go!" Duo yelled eagerly. Heero rolled his eyes and managed to pry the door open. Duo started down the ladder first.

"Now be careful," Heero called to him. "This ladder hasn't be used for a while, so it's probably rusty and very delicate!"

"Don't worry!" Duo called out of the darkness. "I'll be fine! I'm an expert at this kind of thing! W-Whoa!!" THUD. "Ow…" Wufei rolled his eyes.

"Are you ok, Duo?" Quatre called.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" His voice sounded a little strained. "Now where's the light switch, Heero?"

"It should be to the right of the ladder."

"Okee dokie!" After a few minutes of feeling around on the wall, the room below was filled with bright light. "There we go!" Duo looked around the room. "Whoa, cool!" He looked back up the ladder at them. "You have to check this out!!"


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER XIV:

Heero was the last to climb down the ladder.

"Wow, Heero, what is this place?" Quatre asked. Everyone was exploring the hangar. Duo was checking all the computers and rummaging around through the file cabinets that lined the walls. 

"It used to be an old hangar for some of the colonies' troops here on earth. Once it was found, the Earth Nation used it for communications."

"So THAT'S how you knew about it," Trowa said.

"I'm surprised the rest of you didn't," Heero said with a smirk. Duo shrugged.

"You know me, I don't like to do my homework."

"So what are we going to use it for?" Wufei asked.

"I need to keep in touch with Rae," Heero said. "She's working on the inside." The other four nodded.

"Yeah, we know," Duo said.

"I'm worried about her," Quatre said quietly. "What if they find her out?" Heero shook his head.

"She's a pretty self-sufficient person. Rae can take care of herself. She knows what she's doing."

"Well apparently you didn't think so earlier," Duo muttered under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothin'…"

By now the sun was setting, and both Lizz and Courtney were out on the balcony surrounding the top of the lighthouse.

"So what are you so mad at Duo for?" Lizz asked her friend. Courtney ignored the question.

"Isn't it beautiful?" she asked instead. "I love how the sunset reflects off the waves."

"Courtney, talk to me!" Lizz said, hitting Courtney in the back of the head.

"Ow! Hey, cut it out! Stop bugging me, ok?" Court walked around the beacon to the other side of the lighthouse. Lizz followed.

"Court, what'd he do?"

"Nothing really, he just played a stupid trick on me and I got mad at him…" Courtney gazed off across the hills. She sighed. "I dunno why I got so mad, but I can't apologize now, I really hurt him this time." Lizz shook her head.

"Nonsense. Just go down there and tell him you're sorry, and that you shouldn't have been so touchy," she said. Courtney smiled a little.

"I guess you're right," she said quietly.

"Aren't I always?" Lizz said with a grin. Courtney opened her mouth to make some smart remark, but Lizz cut her off. "Don't answer that."

"…and not a word of it to the girls," Heero was saying as Lizz and Courtney walked down the stairs to meet them. There was a rug in the middle of the room that hadn't been there before…

"Not a word of what, Heero?" Lizz asked accusingly. Heero scoffed and crossed his arms.

"If you're not supposed to know, then what's the purpose in telling you?" he said. Lizz clenched her fists and glared at the cocky young man.

"You're a real pain in the butt, you know that?" Courtney asked, putting her hands on her hips.  She was also glaring at him. 

"I take PRIDE in it," Heero said with a smirk. Both girls glowered at him for a moment before Courtney turned to walk out of the lighthouse.

"C'mon Lizz. Let's get out of here before I hurt him," she said, walking out the door.

"I have half-a-mind to kick him where it hurts the most," Lizz muttered as she followed her American friend out the door.

"You're a jerk, Heero." Duo got up to go after the girls. Quatre followed after a quick cold glance at Heero. Heero stared after them until the door closed behind Quatre, then turned to find Trowa was staring at him.

"Don't tell me you're on their side too!" he said in disbelief. Trowa sighed.

"That was very rude," he said, standing up. He headed for the stairs. "I'll be up here if you need me." Trowa walked up the stairs quietly with Pumpkin following. Heero sighed in exasperation and turned to Wufei.

"What?" the Chinese boy asked. "Don't look at me, I'm not on anyone's side."

"Hey, sorry about that, Heero can be a jerk sometimes," Duo said. He and Quatre had finally caught up with the girls.

"Yeah, just ignore him. We've learned to," Quatre said. Duo gave him an odd look. "Well, mostly."

"I know, but he's really starting to tick me off!" Lizz exclaimed. "And I don't get worked up very easily."

"Well, Lizz, if you think about it, they're not the only ones keeping secrets," Courtney said quietly.

"What do ya mean?" Duo asked.

"Ah, it's nothing," Lizz said. She shrugged. "Don't worry about it."

"Ok then, whatever you say," Duo said warily. The group continued to walk along the cliff.

"Hey Duo? I kinda need to talk to you," Courtney said finally. He looked at her with a puzzled look on his face. "I'm sorry about earlier. It was just a joke, and I shouldn't have gotten all mad." He grinned.

"That's ok. It was a stupid trick," he admitted, scratching the back of his head absent-mindly.

"So that's what that was all about!" Quatre exclaimed in revelation.

"Yeah, just a stupid joke," Court said. Lizz smiled.

"See, Court? I told ya he'd understand," she said. Courtney stuck her tongue out at her. Quatre laughed.

"C'mon, maybe Heero's cooled down enough to tell you what's going on," he said, turning back to the lighthouse.

"Yeah," Duo said, "and if he isn't, we'll do our best to tell you ourselves. You've got a right to know."

"Thanks, guys," Lizz said.

"Hey, Heero? Guys?" Duo walked into the living room. No one was there. "Hey, Trowa, Heero? Yo, 'Fei!"

"Where is everyone?" Quatre asked.

"I dunno… Maybe they went downstairs."

"Don't you mean upstairs?" Courtney asked.

"Not exactly," Quatre said carefully. "C'mon, we have to show you something." Quatre reached down and pulled away the rug to reveal the trap door.

"Where does THAT lead?" Lizz asked, pointing at the rectangular shape in the floor.

"Climb down and find out," Duo said coolly. Quatre lifted the door and started to climb down the ladder. Unsure of what to expect, the girls followed him, and Duo came after them, pulling the door closed behind them. The lights were already on downstairs, and the four of them heard voices. Suddenly Heero screamed.

"What is it, Heero?" came Rae's voice.

"What's Rae doing here?" Duo asked, jumping the last few feet down.

"I dunno, but something made Heero scream, and I plan to find out what," Courtney said. She marched off in the direction of Heero's voice with a strong determination in her stride.

"Guess we better follow her," Lizz said. "No telling what Heero might be up to."

"Yeah," Quatre said. They followed the hall to a room at the end. Heero's and other voices were coming from inside.

"THEY'RE BREEDING!!" The four of them jumped away from the door in surprise. Heero suddenly screamed again. It sounded like he was in pain.

"What on EARTH is going-" but Lizz stopped short as Heero ran from the room. 

"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! THEY'RE MUTIPLYING!!!!!!" Duo stared after him.

"Is he talking about my bunnies? 'Cause they've always been multiplying."

"I didn't know you had rabbits," Quatre said. Duo chuckled a little.

"Heero could definitely tell ya about it." Lizz shook her head.

"I'm not going to ask. I want to, but I'm NOT going to ask…" Wufei appeared in the doorway.

"Heero, come back! They're just kittens!"  Then he noticed the two couples standing there in confusion. "Oh, I didn't know you were down here."

"Kittens? What kittens?" Quatre asked. Trowa came into sight behind Wufei with a grin on his face.

"Apparently Pumpkin was pregnant."

"I was wondering why she weighed so much," Duo muttered.

"Really? Can I see the kittens?" Courtney asked eagerly. Trowa nodded.

"Pumpkin's a little sensitive right now, so be gentle." he said, gazing down the hall where Heero had run off earlier. Wufei started snickering. They entered the room to find Rae glaring at them. But she was huge! Then Courtney realized it was a vid-screen.

"How dare you leave me hanging like that! This is taking up a lot of line time, you know!"

"Oh, sorry Rae," Trowa said. "After Heero ran off…" Rae smirked.

"He is SUCH an idiot," she said, sighing. Rae looked down through the vid-screen at Pumpkin and her litter of six tabby kittens. Pumpkin meowed at her, and Rae smiled. "They're so little!"

"And adorable!" Court exclaimed.

"Yeah." Rae nodded. "I wonder who the father is…" Everyone was silent for a moment. Wufei looked at Trowa.

"I know you LOVE the cat, Trowa, but don't you think this is a little much?" It took Trowa a few seconds to figure out what he meant.

"AH! Wufei, that's is NASTY!" he exclaimed.

"You have a sick mind, Wufei," Quatre said, shaking his head.

"'Fei, you're demented," Rae said through the com. Trowa began to shudder violently. He sat down in the nearest chair and muttered things like "disgusting" under his breath.

"That's just nasty!" he said finally. Wufei smirked.

"I learned from the best," he said, looking at Duo.

"WHAT?!" Duo exclaimed. "What's that supposed to mean?!" Rae had to laugh.

"Yeah, well, anyway… Take good care of them, Trowa. I'm counting on you!" Trowa nodded with a smile.

"Don't worry, Rae," he said.

"Yeah, 'daddy' will take GOOD care of them," Wufei said. Lizz stifled a giggle. Trowa fought back the urge to strangle Wufei. Rae shook her finger at him.

"Ignore him, Trowa," she said. "You know he's just playing with you."  Trowa crossed his arms and didn't respond. "So, care to go find Heero for me? I need to finish what I started."

"Oh, right!" Wufei ran off to go find Heero, who had run off in such a hurry a minute ago.

"So, Rae, how did you find us?" Rae grinned.

"You forget, I know Heero better than most of you."

"Which is actually an interesting thing, really," Quatre said, "since you've known him for the shortest time."

"Yeah, even Relena knew him longer than you have," Duo said. Just then, Wufei came back down the hall. His face was extremely red. "Wufei, what happened?" Wufei started to snicker and cleared his throat.

"Heero says he'll be here in a minute," he said, fighting back the urge to laugh.

"What's going on?" Court asked.

"Yeah," Lizz said, "I missed something here." Trowa winced.

"Yeah, you did." Someone opened the door behind them.

"Oh, Heero, you're… back…." Quatre stuttered. Heero's face was covered in scratches- and it wasn't just his face. The poor boy looked like he'd been in a fight with a briar bush.

"Good GOSH, man, what HAPPENED to you?!" Duo exclaimed. Heero flinched and pointed to Pumpkin, who was nursing her newborn kittens. "Pumpkin did that?!" Heero just nodded.

"You poor, poor boy," Courtney said, shaking her head.

"See Heero," Lizz said, "never underestimate a mother's love." Heero glared at her and looked at his feet.

"It's not like I was hurting them," he muttered.

"Really…" Rae said. Heero mumbled something under his breath and shuffled his feet. "So where were we before we were, um, interrupted?" Heero stopped staring at his feet and looked back up at Rae. He seemed to have regained his composure. 

"The Aptimal," he stated.

"What? What about the Aptimal?" Duo said suddenly. His body was stiff and his eyes focused on the screen.

"Oh, that's right… you weren't here," Rae said, sounding a bit exasperated.

"What's the Aptimal?" Courtney asked.

"It's a very powerful Gundam that could easily blow up the earth," Rae answered. Both Courtney and Lizz gasped. Rae looked at Duo. "Maybe I should brief them on  the story?" He nodded.

"Yeah, they're already mixed up in this, why not?"

"Right." Rae turned back to the girls. "My father, Professor Jonathan Hendricks, created a Gundam capable of destroying the sun. Because of the power needed to control the Gundam, only people born with certain skills can pilot it- but even if you have those skills, you must be trained for a long period of time before you can bring out its full potential (A/N: ZOIDS! BWA HA HA HA!!). I was taken away to a training center when I was four so I could bring out this potential. One thing lead to another, and eventually these guys got mixed up in it." Duo grinned, and Quatre smiled warmly.

"Eventually it came down to brain-washing, and I found myself in the Gundam, about to destroy Earth, when Duo knocked me back into my senses." Duo grinned even wider at this. "So I decided to destroy it, once and for all. So I blew it up and ended the whole mess. Or so I thought." Trowa nodded.

"And that's how this whole thing started," he said.

"Yeah. I've found that Grey is trying to rebuild the Aptimal. The power source WASN'T destroyed, and they're reconstructing that darned thing."

"You can't be serious!" Quatre exclaimed.

"I am," she said, nodding solemnly. "And we have to stop them."

"Again," Wufei said plainly.

"Yes, again."

"But how can you stop them without your Gundams?" Courtney asked. "It'd be nearly impossible!"

"We're not going to," Heero said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

"What are you babbling on about now?" Wufei asked irritably.

"We will have our Gundams."

"But Heero," Quatre protested, "they've been-"

"Destroyed, yes, I know. But think about it. If they can rebuild the APTIMAL…" He waited for them to figure it out on their own.

"Then we can rebuild my buddy!" Duo yelled happily. Heero nodded.

"Maybe you're not as stupid as you look." Duo shot Heero a dirty look.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

"It's probably for you own good anyway," Heero said smugly. "If you had made something of it, I might have to hurt you." Duo felt his hands ball up into fists as if someone were controlling him from the outside. _Just ignore him, Duo, _he told himself. _Don't let him get to ya…_

"And besides," Rae said, trying to avoid conflict, "I didn't blow up Lunar."

"Yes, but even if we had the plans to the Gundams, where would we get the parts?" Trowa asked. Rae winked.

"That's where I come in," she said with a smile. "You just worry about finding those blue-prints, I'll get the stuff you need."

"So it's agreed then. We build them here and stop Grey from doing what he wills. Any questions?" Heero asked.

"Yeah, just one," Wufei said. "HOW THE HECK ARE WE SUPPOSED TO FIND THE PRINTS?! It's not like someone would just leave them lying around for just ANY idiot to find!"

"That's why we're to start looking NOW," Heero said with a glare, "and maybe some IDIOT will."

"So THAT'S why you brought us here," Quatre said. "This station must have access to the original Barton Foundation files."  Heero nodded. 

"Yeah, and you guys have the room and equipment you need to rebuild the Gundams here," Lizz said. Heero nodded again.

"So let's go find them!" Duo exclaimed with a grin. "Any challenge is worth hitting head-on!"

"Yeah, let's do this!" Court yelled enthusiastically. "Guys, we'll help any way we can."

"Yeah, but adding you is like minus two," Lizz teased

"THAT'S NOT FUNNY!" Rae laughed.

"Well, that's all I have to say. I'll be in touch," she said.

"Bye Rae," Trowa said. She nodded.

"Good luck." The screen went blank as the connection was cut.

"Yeah, you too," Heero whispered.


End file.
